- IIT Kanpur

Transcription

- IIT Kanpur

March 26, 2010
notes on engineering research and developement
Volume 2 Number 2
An IITK Students’ Publication
6
The Scientoon
Man
Interview with
Dr. P. K. Srivastava
15
Felixologue
by M Felix Orlando
24
Secrets of
Good Teaching
Interview with
Dr. Lilavati Krishnan
Introducing SCoPE Talk Series
Science Communication and Public Engagement
CONTENTS
Team - IIT Kanpur:
From Editor’s Desk
1
The Scientoon Man
6
Student initiatives recognized
— NERD and ICARUS
9
Felixologue
12
Abhyast
14
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
17
Secrets of Good Teaching
19
2
“ I will never forget
my roots and
continue to struggle
hard to popularize
science.”
The Re-discovery of India
Yardstick
Interview with
Dr. Lilavati Krishnan
(Head, Dept. of
Humanities and
Social Sciences, IIT K)
Egg yo
22
Lunar Rover
24
Kirigami—the art of paper cutting
26
1.61803398..
27
1. Arvind Kothari
2. Mohit Kumar Jolly
3. Kirtimaan Mishra
4. Rishabh Chauhan
5. Bhuvnesh Goyal
6. Pranjal Nayak
7. Utsav Kesarwani
8. Puneet Singh.
9. Aayush Gupta
10. Gaurav Gautam
11. Gaurav Krishna
12. Jyoti Gupta
13. Kavya Sudha
14. Kritika Singh
15. Mankeet S Nirankari
16. Neha Lahri
17. Pranay Agarwal
18. Punit Kr. Singhal
19. Rohit Upasani
20. Shalabh Chauhan
21. Shubham Deva
22. Smriti Agarwal
23. Tharun Reddy
25. Vidit Jhindal
24. Vishal Nagwani.
10
28
IGIT, New Delhi:
Sushmita Malakar
Brightness and Contrast
32
AMU:
Ibad- ur-Rehman
SCoPE Talk Series
36
Playing with Plasma
Cover pages Design:
Vidit Jhindal
Source of Cover Page Image-http://blog.craftzine.com/spool_rack-1.jpg
Notes On Engineering Research & Development
IIT K @ 50: The Year of Student Initiatives and more…
From Editor’s Desk
The time since the launch of previous issue of NERD in
November’09 has been quite eventful in two major contexts – completion of student (technical) projects and
spread of awareness about science communication. Abhyast (Boeing- IIT Kanpur Autonomous Vehicle) project
was completed and demonstrated on January 26, 2010.
The President of India saw the demonstration of Jugnu
(IIT K Nanosatellite Project) on March 6, 2010. NERD
team kicked off 2010 with the start of SCoPE (Science
Communication and Public Engagement) talk series
where science communicators like Mr. Arvind Gupta
(Eminent science toymaker, and Distinguished Alumnus
Awardee, IIT K) and Ms. S. Priyadarshini (Editor, Nature
India) gave talks about their exemplary contribution in
outreach and popularization of science. ICARUS (Indian
Conference on Academic Research by Undergraduate
Students) is another student-led initiative that encompasses both these aims- showcase and promotion of undergraduate research, and their ability to get their work
across to their peers.
tion and education, which is being catalyzed by youth’s
addiction to entrepreneurship. One thing which still
awaits a revolution in India is the status of science journalism and communication.
Coming back to campus events, another term that has
been quite in air recently is ‘Undergraduate Research’.
Academic Review Committee (ARC 2009), IIT K recommended, in principle, promotion of research among undergraduates. Mr. N.R. Narayan Murty, Chief Guest, Inauguration Ceremony of Golden Jubilee Celebrations of IIT
K, compared the research scenario and output of all IITs
to those of western universities and gave examples how
good universities abroad are very serious in involving
undergraduates in research. Prof. Yash Pal, Chief Guest,
Foundation Day, IIT K, started his address as “You all
have the capacity and responsibility to bring about a
much larger change than what you have brought about.”,
and mentioned later to the students, “Dive deep into a
subject. Do not swim on the surface. Do not be a graduate
labor."
The launch of this issue of NERD in the inauguration
ceremony of ICARUS by the Principal Scientific Advisor,
Government of India, Dr. R. Chidambaram, sets the next
target for NERD- to promote student research and its
communication in other technical colleges of the country,
and to provide a platform for discussion and dissemination for the next generation of budding scientists, science
educators, communicators and policy makers for India. I
am hopeful that NERD shall reach unprecedented heights
in promoting writing and discussing about contemporary science and science policy topics among students all
across the nation through the new NERD HERD.
It is high time NERD catches up with all these volatile
messages and changes, and realizes its long term vision
of a science magazine of the students, by the students
and for everyone. NERD chapters should be started all
over the country in various institutes thus inspiring an
India‐wide interest in research and development among
the students. Better synergy of academia with industries
and research centers would guide the technical development of the country in a way in which it has never been
done before. Someone rightly said, “It can be no accident
that there is today no wealthy country that is information-poor and no information-rich country that is poor
and underdeveloped.” Let us see NERD playing an instrumental role in seeing India 2020 vision of Dr. Kalam
come true!
Ours is a developing country. The National Innovation
Foundation (NIF) has declared 2010s to be the decade of
innovation, the Prime Minister has announced that Indian R&D spending shall be increased from 1% to 2% of
GDP in next half a decade, and CBSE and MHRD is bent
on making educational reforms at school level. This knits
the much awaited symbiosis between research, innova-
-Mohit Kumar Jolly
NERD
CREATE,
COMMUNICATE,
CONTRIBUTE!!
1
Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur
The Scientoon Man
Interview with Dr. P. K. Srivastava
(A scientist and a scientoonist)
Mohit Kumar Jolly and Utsav Kesarwani
Dozing off during lectures is a common omnipresent phenomenon, especially if you find science to be dull and
boring, and words like nanotechnology, spectrometry and metabolomics are Greek for you. It’s time to meet Dr.
Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, who has ushered in a novel sleep resistant method to deliver lectures and teach
science. Dr. Srivastava, Senior Scientist at Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, has been teaching science
through cartoons. Yes- you heard it right! He has explained the whole concept of DNA fingerprinting, spectrometry
and many others all through cartoons, and only cartoons, which he calls as ‘Scientoons’ (www.scientoon.com).
NERD: How did the thought of inventing this new field
come across you? What was your motivation for the
same?
Scientoonist: I attended lectures and seminars by many
scientists/researchers with a large number of publications & awards, but most of them were unable to hold
the audience during their entire lecture and make it
enjoyable, i.e., there was always a communication gap
between the speaker (an expert in a particular area) and
the audience (who may not have all experts), and this
resulted in audience dozing off by the end of the lecture.
Dr. Srivastava has delivered over 680 lectures all across
the world on scientoons on topics such as environmental
pollution and its impact on human health, biodiversity,
development of drugs, water conservation, nanotechnology, waste management etc. He was awarded the International Young Person of the Year by Junior Chambers
Association (USA) [This award is given to 10 persons
across the world annually]. He was also invited to
present a paper on Scientoons in 32nd IUPAC Congress at
Stockholm, Sweden by the Royal Swedish Academy and
Swedish National Committee on Science & Technology.
He was in IIT Kanpur on September 13, 2009 for delivering a lecture on Scientoons, and NERD team had the
privilege to learn more about scientoons through an exclusive interview. Here are some of the excerpts:
When I had to deliver my first lecture on 26 May 1988, I
wanted everyone in the audience to understand and
enjoy what I was talking about. My topic was very dull
and comprehensive- Development of Drugs & Pharmaceutical Industry in Developing Countries. I thought to
deliver my talk through a novel type of science cartoons
to make it more interesting and impactful. The time I was
allotted was 10 minutes, but to my surprise, the chairperson did not stop me and I continued for 45 minutes.
NERD: Please tell us about Scientoons and
Scientoonics.
Scientoonist: Cartoons are combination of caricature
(distorted drawing) and satire (humorous comment).
Scientoons are cartoons based on science that not only
make you laugh or smile but also they convey lot of
scientific information/data/researches/concepts in a
simple, understandable and interesting manner. They
are one generation ahead than other science cartoons
(figure aside).
SCIENTOON
Parasitology
Plants or animals
which live in or on
others and draw
nutrients
from
them for their
survival, are called
Parasites
and
study of parasites
is
known
as
Parasitology
Each scientoon has 2 distinct parts- a box containing scientific information, data or new research results, and an
attached cartoon, which makes entire information
communicable to the audience. I coined this term on 26
May 1988, at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Scientoonics is a new science which explains various
science subjects and research areas using scientoons. It
is a novel way of science communication.
2
“See these Scientists! They exploit us for
publishing research papers, getting Ph.D.,
attending seminars, visiting abroad and still they
call us parasite?”
Scientoonics is also being aimed to teach advanced level
topics like mass spectroscopy, DNA fingerprinting,
nanotechnology etc.
The lecture was well received and I won a silver medal
for the best lecture. This was my first award and then I
coined the term– Scientoon.
NERD: WHO appreciated AIDS awareness and education
to children through Scientoons. UNEP has published a
report on scientoons for being used for environmental
cause. How are scientoons being utilized so efficiently in
such awareness campaigns?
Scientoonist: We need to educate not only the common
masses, but also the policy makers sitting in government
chairs. The theory of EA 2 (Education causing Awareness
and Action) needs to be implemented well. For example,
if we teach them about climate change and global warmI am also working to animate these scientoons and writing, we make them aware and only after that, we can
ing books. My first book ‘Scientoonic Tell-Tale on
take necessary actions to protect the
Genome and DNA’ has already been
“My vision is to
environment.
published.
Later I switched to making scientoons related to areas of
interest for the common man- pollution, global warming,
climate change etc. and I earned more recognition &
enthusiasm, and I continued making scientoons on a
wide variety of topics. Now, whenever I design my
lecture, I start thinking like a high school student, and
then I follow a chain of sequence supported by scientoons to explain.
change the nature
NERD: Your programs have been
NERD: You have delivered more than
of science education broadcasted on television on various
680 lectures all across the world in
channels Virginia 13-WSET TV (USA),
past two decades on alarming topics
in the world.”
National Network DD1 (India), Aaj Tak
as global warming, drug research,
(India) etc as well as on radio channels like BBC
water conversation etc. through scientoons. What vision
(London) & All India Radio (India). Please tell us in brief
do you have in mind for this field of scientoonics?
about them.
Scientoonist: Many times, the way science is being
Scientoonist: Water scarcity is an issue which shall
taught, it looks very technical, less interesting and someaffect everyone. On such topics, who doesn’t need to be
times even boring, and it is because of this reason that
told and educated? It was a big challenge to make people
students across the world are opting for more lucrative
visualise about this condition through radio within a four
career options in business, commerce and IT. This trend
-minute program. I gave a scenario of water scarcity and
is an alarming one because no country can progress
urgent need for its conservation, and told the story about
without development in science. My vision is to change
the crow that died and told the frog to put pebbles in a
the nature of science education in the world. I want to
pot (Refer: the Scientoon below).
setup an international institution of scientoons to teach
everything related to this field.
2 Billion people belonging to 60 countries of the world
are dying for water. By the year 2050 the figure may
go up to 7 billion.
NERD: You have been working on science communication and popularization, and delivered lectures in India,
Singapore, Thailand, USA and other Caribbean countries.
How do you compare the present state of science communication and popularization in India than that with
the other countries?
Scientoonist: India is not far behind - the government is
paying attention and needs to encourage more people. A
radical change in methods of education is required so
that people enjoy science. Scientoons have also been
included as a subject in the syllabus of M.Sc. (Mass Communication in Science and Technology) in many Indian
universities-Lucknow University (Lucknow), Anna
University (Chennai), Makhan Lal Chaturevdi University
(Bhopal), Devi Ahilya Bai University (Indore) etc. Many
other countries are also planning to introduce scientoons
for science education and communication.
“For the last three generations, our family was very scientific in
managing the water problem but what can I do when there is no water
left?”
To convert it into a radio scientoon, I with my colleague,
Ms. Khare, Program Executive of All India Radio (AIR),
Lucknow, called few students and started reciting ‘ek
kauwa pyaasa tha' (A crow was thirsty) on radio. TheDeputy Director and his fellows at AIR, Lucknow started
mimicking the recital in voice of a crow. This program
was broadcasted through all the 210 stations same day
same time and it gained a great response from listeners.
There are other modes of scientoons like plantoons,
puppet scientoons and radio scientoons. India is leading
the world in trying to communicate science with experts
of puppetry for topics like HIV, hygiene, public health etc.
3
NERD: Amongst all the lectures given by you, what was
the most challenging topic you feel & why?
Scientoonist: The most challenging one was mass
spectrometry as the topic is very technical.
NERD: You also propose to set up an international institute to promote science education through visual media
by bringing science graduates, cartoonists and communication experts on a common platform to generate tools
for simplifying science education. What are the updates
regarding the plan?
Scientoonist: Yes, it is my dream plan. I am in touch
with many people in world related to same field to set up
this institute with head quarters in India and branches
everywhere. The Government of India should provide
help for this cause. A medium is required to convey the
information to and from experts in a simple way.
NERD: Please share with us about some of your
scientoons you are deeply attached to.
Scientoonist: The one I am deeply attached to is on
‘Apartheid’ , that received appreciation from Hon’ble
President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam as well. (Refer: the
Scientoon below) and there are two reasons for it.
NERD: You have a galaxy of awards at your name- the
Outstanding Person of the Year by Junior Chamber International (USA), Distinguished Leadership Award by
American Biographical Inc. (USA) and International
Brand Ambassador of the Young Scientist. What, in your
opinion, has been your most significant contribution to
science communication and popularization in India and
outside India?
Scientoonist: I am very happy to see when people not
having any science background understand tough subjects with the help of scientoons. Also these scientoons
influenced government to make reforms, for example, a
scientoon on ‘Panchavati’ influenced the government to
sanction 1.5 crores to various districts of UP to plant
those 5 trees along with neem. (Refer: the scientoon
below). I think one must be expert in communication.
Firstly, when I was honoured as the most outstanding
person in America, this was the cartoon which was
displayed and all the 800 - 900 black people who were
present at the ceremony well appreciated this. Secondly,
when in an award ceremony, I was moving amongst the
crowd of more than 4000 people of a Puerto Rico, a
Caribbean country, a girl came to me and requested me
to make the same cartoon. By the time I finished, she
started touching me saying that she wanted to catch that
something special in me. This was the biggest complement for me. This event also taught me the biggest lesson
of my life- ‘Never judge a person by his appearance’. I
also made the same cartoon in the VIP book of American
Airlines and Air India.
SCIENTOON
PANCHVATI
A group of five shady
trees
is
called
Panchavati.
Kamban
Ramayan:
A
circular area with five
Bargad trees is called
Panchvati. Lord Ram made
a house in the center of this.
Skand Puran:
Five trees are Peepal
(east),
Aonla
(South),
Bargad (West), Ashok
(South East) and Bel
(North). Distance among
these trees should be
minimum 10 meters.
NERD: You were invited to European Science Festival
2008 to give a talk on Scientoonics and we heard that
you were struggling for your trip to get sponsored. What
does this speak of the development, awareness and attitude towards the field in India?
Scientoonist: July 3, 2008 was the great moment for me
when I was invited to the European Science Festival with
25000 scientists from all over the world. I was allotted
90 minute session in the festival, but they could not
sponsor my trip. I felt very depressed. USA supported
everyone from its country, but I could not get any
sponsorship from the institute or government. Finally,
Dr. Manoj Patairiya (Director, National Council of Science
and Technology Communication, Department of Science
and Technology) went there through support from
Government of India and gave the presentation.
“Its very urgent! You immediately send a
camera team. I got as person who has seen a
real PEEPAL TREE.”
Scientoons have also played an important role in solving
common public issues. For example, garbage in Lucknow
was carried by uncovered trucks, and a truck driver driving at 50-60 km/hr was dumping garbage throughout
the city. I spoke to many government officials in my talks
about the problems arising due to them. On 5th June
2009, I told the Mayor of Lucknow Dr. Dinesh Sharma
about this menace, and within a week, all trucks were
covered properly.
NERD: You also received the National Award for Science
Writing by ISWA (Indian Science Writers’ Association),
and have been appointed by DST (Department of Science
4
& Technology) as an expert to conduct science journalism workshops throughout the country. How, in your
opinion, the concept of a student science magazine, like
NERD, can contribute to the current situation of science
communication?
Scientoonist: I am deeply impressed with the idea of
NERD. It is the need of the hour that the younger generation comes forward to solve the problems of science
communication in our country. You should include more
visual content in NERD to make it interactive. A regular
column on scientoons matching with the theme of the
issue can also be helpful in communicating science to
non-experts and elaborating author’s talent as well.
“ I will never forget
my roots and
continue to struggle
hard to popularize
science.”
NERD: What is your final message for the readers?
Scientoonist: Have confidence in you as you all can
create the best in world, never give up even if you fail,
have patience to bear failure. Learn from the mistakes
and come back to your job.
NERD: Being a shy child from Rae Bareli & now a senior
scientist in Chemical Division of Central Drug Research
Institute (CDRI), Lucknow and popularly known as the
Scientoon Man, how would you describe Dr. Pradeep
Srivastava in one line?
Scientoonist: I will never forget my roots and continue
to struggle hard to popularize science and scientoonics
and learn from everyone I meet.
Mohit Kumar Jolly ([email protected]) is a final year
undergraduate at IIT Kanpur. He is interested in science
journalism and communication, and is the Co-founder and
Student Coordinator, NERD.
Utsav Kesarwani ([email protected]) is a second year undergraduate at IIT Kanpur and member, NERD team.
SCIENTOON
Puneet Singh, NERD Team member
5
The Re-discovery of India
Vikas Trivedi
"...this edition of mine and the translation of the Vedas, will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India and that a
large number of Vedic hymns are childish in the extreme; tedious, low, commonplace. They (the Vedas) contain, by the
side of simple, natural, childish thoughts. India has been conquered once, but India must be conquered again and that
second conquest should be a conquest by education…the ancient religion of India is doomed, and if Christianity does not
step in, whose fault will it be”, Max Muller wrote in his letter to Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for India in December
1868. The following article shall bring to light some facts which shall question the above statement vehemently.
days are left for June to start and Dr. Mohan struggling in
his office with those papers. He orders his peon for tea
and himself switches on the radio. The very first news he
hears is about the death of the nation’s first prime minister. He is taken aback and sinks in his thoughts deeper
than ever before. The light of the setting sun entering his
office is diminishing and as the twilight is fading gradually the image of bulbs inside appearing in
the window glasses of his office have
started interrupting the view of quiet and
green campus outside the Mathematics
department. Time is passing and it’s almost
ten, but Dr. Mohan is still in his office.
It had been about one hour since the sun had hid itself
behind the horizon. The canopy of darkness was slowly
veiling the surroundings. It’s the month of October, 1962
and Dr. Brij Mohan, Head of the Department of Mathematics, BHU, Varanasi, is working in his office. Suddenly
he hears a knock on the door. He stands up from his
chair, comes to the door but no body is there. He assumes that it was a gush of wind that
made the sound. As he turns back he hears
the sound again. He turns immediately and
swings open the door. He finds a lady,
wrapped in a khaki shawl standing on the
door with her eyes peeping through the
spectacles. Before he could ask anything
the lady enters into his office and puts
down a pile of papers that she had been
covering under her shawl, on his table.
The lady whispers something into his ears and immediately leaves the place. Dr. Mohan, totally confused, goes
near the pile, picks up a sheet and sinks down in his
chair.
Suddenly he stands up, puts on his glasses,
comes out and latches the door behind and
starts walking towards north. He reaches
the campus gates and now he could see the statue of Pt.
Madan Mohan Malviya, founder of BHU. He bows slightly
and beckons a rickshaw puller to take him to the
Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of Ganges. Everything is silent and clam on the banks yet the silence appears to be mysterious. Dr. Mohan looks around : the
rickshaw puller is gone, there is no body around, it’s
complete darkness, except at some distance he can hazily
see the smoke swirling up from the reddened logs of
woods put in a ‘Chita’ that must have been lit a few
hours ago. He decides to move in that direction.
Two years have passed since then but Dr. Mohan has
never been at rest. He has been examining the manuscript that was handed over to him by Smt. Manjula
Trivedi, the lady who visited his office. Nobody knows
what do those papers have in them but one thing that
everyone has noticed is that Dr. Mohan is at unease. Five
6
When he is about a score of feet away, he sits down on
the bank and starts contemplating. The images of those
manuscripts are still haunting his mind. “I know what
has kept you disturbed through all these years” a soft
voice broke the silence that was hovering the firmament
a moment before. He sprang up with astonishment only
to realise that the voice belonged to the same lady who
had handed over the manuscripts to him.
testified by the preservation of the most ancient Indian
religious text, the Ṛigveda, as a single text, without any
variant readings.”
“The Indians had adopted the decimal scale very early.
The numerical language of no other nation is so scientific
and has attained as high a state of perfection as that of
the ancient Indians. In symbolism they succeeded with
ten signs to express any number most elegantly and simply. The Hindu notation was carried to Arabia about 770
AD by a Hindu scholar Kanka who was invited from
Ujjain to the famous Court of Baghdad by the Abbasid
Caliphate Al-Mansur. Kanka taught Hindu astronomy and
mathematics to Arabian scholars and with his help they
translated into Arabic the Brahma-Sphuta-Siddhanta of
Brahma Gupta. From Arabia, the numerals slowly
marched towards the West through Egypt and Northern
Arabia; and they finally entered Europe in the 11th century. The Europeans called them the Arabic notations,
because they received them from the Arabs. But the Arabs themselves, the Eastern as well as the Western, have
unanimously called them the Hindu figures (Al-Arqan-alHindu).”
“I know Mohan ji that the calculations and the solutions
proposed in the manuscript that I handed over to you
have really disturbed you” Manjula continued, “because
it is very difficult for a western mind or ones trained in
those ways to believe that Indian tradition that can be
traced back to even before 8000 BC, gave to the world
much more than the sign of zero. It is much less known
that important concepts like that of recursion, algebraic
transformation, mathematical logic, abstract language
description, binary numbers, combinatorics also arose in
India several centuries before their rediscovery in the
West. Indian mathematical science had already reached
dizzying heights about 2500 years ago by the time of
Panini and Pingala. Panini’s grammar for Sanskrit, which
is equivalent in its computing power to the most powerful computing machine, has not yet been matched for any
other language, while Pingala described the binary number system.” As she was speaking it seemed to him as if
he was witnessing a mysterious revelation from a chiromancer who could apprehend all that was within him.
Dr. Mohan was still listening when Manjula stood up,
walked a little away and then returned back with a small
stick in her hand. With the stick she drew up something
on the sand to which Dr. Mohan immediately shouted
“It’s a trapezium, but what do you want to prove by
this?”. “Have a little patience Mohan ji” she sounded mysterious, “this is a figure which is widely used in making
the Yajna vedi or the altar, but have you or anybody ever
paid attention to what is the significance of its shape?”
“Shruti was the method of memorisation of the vedic text
and its transmission from one generation to the other
with high fidelity. Vedic literature comprise of the four
Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. In addition it also
consists of Vedangas, Purana, Upanishads, Upvedas (Ayur,
Dhanur, Gandharva, Sthapatya). Ancient sages i.e. the
rishis used to memorise up to 11 forms of recitation of
the same text which were subsequently "proof-read" by
comparing the different recited versions. While Jaṭāpāṭha , literally meaning "mesh recitation", would have
the sequence of words recited as 1-2 , 2-1, 1-2 ; 2-3, 3-2,
2-3 …..,the Dhvaja-pāṭha (literally "flag recitation") for a
sequence of N words would be 1-2, (N-1)-N; 2-3, (N-3)(N-2); ...; (N-1)-N, 1-2. The most difficult was the Ghanapāṭha , literally meaning "dense recitation, which was
recited as 1-2, 2-1, 1-2-3, 3-2-1, 1-2-3; 2-3, 3-2, 2-3-4, 4-3
-2, 2-3-4; ….. That these methods have been effective is
The answer to this question was obviously not affirmative and so with a smile on her face she continued . “The
isosceles trapezium used in yajnas had specific dimensions which you can see on the figure as I am drawing
them” And with the stick she drew 5 variations of the
same figure and in all of them she showed perfect right
angled triangles (Figure1). “So do you want to prove to
me that Indians knew about the Pythagoras’s theorem?
Making a few triangles that satisfy Pythagorean triplets
doesn’t prove anything.” Dr. Mohan immediately reacted.
“I said Mohan ji, have a little patience. For your doubt let
us see what exactly the vedic text has to say about right
angled triangles.”
Figure 1 Isosceles trapezium used in the Yajna vedi or the altar
7
She was now drawing a rectangle with three squares,
two on its sides and one on the diagonal (Figure 2a).
“The Satapata Brahmana says that the sum of areas of
two squares drawn on the sides of a rectangle is equal to
the area of the square drawn on the diagonal of the rectangle. Now this is the same proof which appears in
Euclid’s book “The Elements”. And we also know that
Pythagoras lived around 580 BC and Euclid around 300
BC whereas Satapata Brahmana was wriiten around
1000 BC. Do I still need to say anything Mohan ji ?”
memorizable words through the insertion of vowels
between them. Meaningful and mnemonic words could
now be formed using these letters in much the same way
as mnemonic words are coined today to represent
commercial telephone numbers.
The use of it is very apparent in the South Indian musicology. All Janaka ragas were named following this sutra.
Katapayadi translation of first two syllables of its name
gives us its number which indicates the sequence of
notes, for example in the Mechakalyani Rag : the syllables
Me and Cha give 65 which now enables to go directly to
the raga’s position in its table from its name without having to do any search. To give you a better feeling of
Katapayadi Sutra let me recite a shloka to you
गोपीभा यमधु ात- ंग
ृ ीशोद धसं धग| खि ज वताखाताव
Satapata Brahman
1000 BC
Pythagoras
580 BC
गलहालास घर||
When you decode this with the help of the sutra do you
have any idea what will you get ? You get the value of
∏/10
correct
to
32
decimal
places
i.e
0.31415926535897932384626433832792”
Euclid
300 BC
All this had bewildered the professor. He was trying to
make out everything when all of a sudden she said :
योजनानाम सह
वे
वे शते
वे
च
All this was making Dr. Mohan witness a metamorphosis
of himself. Before he could speak anything, Manjula
broke the silence again “Mohan ji, these are just a few
examples that I have quoted to give you a glimpse of the
knowledge that is contained in the Vedic literature. The
Chhandashastra or “the science of verse meters” written
by Pingala in 4th century BC highlights the methods of
constructing prastaras (Figure 3a), which are equivalent
to the truth tables. A Sanskrit meter consists of verse feet
which are composed of syllables which are prosodically
either light (laghu) or heavy (guru). A light syllable consists of a short vowel followed by at most one consonant
and any other syllable is heavy (Figure 3b). Using these
guru and laghu syllables Pingala constructed the prastaras and using a value of 0 and 1 for them respectively he
describes the method of converting decimal numbers to
binary and vice versa. (Figure 3c) Shlokas like
योजने एकेन
न मशध
न
मण नमो त
ु ेत||
“Do you know what is this Mohan ji that I said just now.
It is a hymn from Rig Veda in praise of the Sun God. The
author says that he bows before the Sun God whose rays
travel 2202 yojans in half nimish. When you convert
these to modern units where a yojan is 29.261m and a
nimish is 0.4256s, you get the modern speed of light
correct to two decimal places.”
1 Yojan = 29.261 m (Narada Puran 4-2-5,6)
1 Nimish = 0.4256 s (Srimad Bhagwatam 3-11-3 ,10)
2202 yojan/ (0.5 nimish) = 2.99346 x 108 m/s
Present Value = 2.99792458 x 108 m/s
“It is a matter of historic interest to note that in their
mathematical writings the ancient Sanskrit writers did
not use figures when big numbers were concerned in
their numerical notations but preferred to use the letters
of the Sanskrit Devanagri alphabet to represent the various numbers! Katapayadi Sutra (Figure 2b) was such a
system wherein consonants represented various numerals and possessed the powerful ability to form easily
उ
तम
वग
ुणान अ कान उपर
आ
यात समा लखे
|त
लघु थाने तु ये काह य
स
ू तैः सेकेर म ीतैर भवे् त||
are the ones where he describes the entire process
elaborately.”
Figure 2 (a) Proof of Pythagors’s theorem in Satapata Brahmana (b) Katapayadi Sutra
8
Figure 3 (a) Prastara (b) Construction of 4 digit binary numbers’ prastara (c) Conversion of Binary to decimal number
using Pingala’s method (U= laghu,, _ = guru)
Max Muller. Would modern Christians accept an interpretation of the Bible or Biblical history done by Hindus
aimed at converting them to Hinduism? Universities in
India also use the Western history books and Western
Vedic translations that propound such views that denigrate their own culture and country.”
“Mohan ji the point that I am trying to make is a very
simple one. Our history has been written and taught in
the way western historians have understood and framed
it. But evidences stand out and demand that we need to
reconsider what is being considered at present.
She continued, “I just want you to leave with the message
that it is unfortunate that this approach has not been
questioned more, particularly by Indians. Many Indians
still accept, read or even honour the translations of the
'Vedas' done by such Christian missionary scholars as
Vikas Trivedi ([email protected]) is a final year undergraduate at IIT Kanpur. He is interested in biomechanics,
developmental neurobiology and ancient Indian science.
Student initiatives recognized– NERD & ICARUS
Mohit Kumar Jolly (Co-founder and Student Coordinator, NERD) presented a paper on
‘Catalyzing science communication through students’ at the 6th International Conference on Hands-on Science (HSCI 2009) held at Ahmedabad (India). The concept of NERD
was presented as a student initiative to celebrate the work done by students and encourage discussions among them, introduce students to science writing and communication
and bring research from journals and shelves to everyone in a comprehensible way. The
presentation received a huge response and many delegates expressed their wish to contribute to NERD. (In this issue, you will find ‘Role of paper toys in eradication of insect
phobia in a community’ by Dr. VSS Sastry, one of the delegates of HSCI 2009).
ISCC (Indian Science Communication Congress) 2009, held in Guwahati, also witnessed a presentation on ‘Using science
communication to promote student research’ by NERD team members- Bhuvnesh Goyal and Mohit Kumar Jolly. They
talked about two student initiatives at IIT Kanpur- NERD and ICARUS’2010 (Indian Conference for Academic Research by
Undergraduate Students 2010), that were aimed towards promoting involvement of students in technical research and
development activities.
Golden Jubilee Organizing Committee, IIT Kanpur accepted the proposal for conducting the first national level undergraduate research conference (ICARUS) as a part of Golden Jubilee Celebrations at IIT Kanpur. ICARUS’2010 shall be held
from March 26 – 28 March, 2010 at IIT Kanpur, and its theme is ‘Undergraduate Research’. The
events are Sanshleshan (Paper presentation contest), Adbhut (Poster presentation contest),
Joojho (Brainstorming session) and Margdarshan (a lecture series by eminent dignitaries). The
first ICARUS will be graced by the presence and keynote lectures of Dr. R. Chidambaram
(Principle Scientific Advisor to the Government of India), Dr. R. Narasimha (foremost Aerospace scientist and world-renowned fluid dynamicist) and Dr. K. A. Natarajan (Honorary Professor at IISc Bangalore). Kirtimaan Mishra ([email protected]) is the Convener, ICARUS’ 10.
9
Felixologue
Control of exoskeleton robots for
rehabilitation of stroke patients
M Felix Orlando
Recent research shows that stroke patients who lose their ability to control their arms/legs can recover a fair
amount of their brain functions (plasticity) if regular physical therapy is provided. There is a dire dearth of trained
physical therapists for the large number of stroke patients across the world. The following article talks about using
robotic therapists (exoskeletons) - designing an optimal wearable robot hand that can provide the physical
motion to a stroke patient’s hand, thus stimulating the brain cells for regeneration. This exoskeleton hand would use
EMG or (Electromyography) or EEG (Electroencephalography) signals obtained from the patient using a BCI (Brain
Computer Interface). How can an optimally designed finger exoskeleton replicate human therapist’s motions and
tune the therapy in a smart and intelligent way based on rate of recovery of the patient, let’s read and find it out.
tients. Past research on restoration of grasping function
Introduction:
in paraplegic or stroke patients is rare and hence in this
Recent progress in robotics technology has brought
research we propose an exoskeletal robot for human
about a revolution in its non-industrial applications like
three finger grasping support –
rehabilitation, agriculture, surdesign, sensor fusion and control.
gery, entertainment etc. A lot of
The developed exoskeletal will
current research is being adgenerate flexible human like modressed towards human welfare
tion based on biological signals
for restoration of motion of the
derived from the EMG/EEG sigarms or legs of elderly or disabled
nals that directly reflect the subpersons.
Robots have been
jects intention. The developed
designed for
assisting in feeddevise can be used for the following, walking, sitting, and day to
ing three cases a) to support the
day care of elderly. It has also
fingers of elderly persons who
been predicted that as the world
have reduced control over their
population ages and life expecfinger force, b) active hand prostance increases in most countries,
thetics for persons who have lost
the need for assisting robots will
their fingers and c) rehabilitation
become more and more. Most of
Fig. 1 HAL (Human Assistive Locomotion made
of patients with finer injury/
the early applications of exoskeleby Univ. of Tsukuba, Japan)
neuro muscular disease.
tons (wearable robots) were as
man-amplifiers or power assist suits and their applications were for military purposes. More recently the focus
Human finger motion capture and optimal finger
has shifted to human assistance; most famous suits deexoskeleton design:
veloped in the last few years are HAL and Bleex.
The human hand has almost 20 degrees of freedom and
the joints are not all simple revolute joints (also called
HAL (Fig. 1) is an exoskeletal suit that the wearer uses to
pin joint or hinge joint). Hence the kinematics of graspaugment his physical strength. It has
ing and manipulation is still not very
motors located at the joints that are
clearly understood. Due to this it is
actuated by using the neural signals
very difficult to design a robot hand
from the wearers’ muscles. HAL has
for physical therapy that can accuthe hybrid control systems which
rately emulate the motion of the finconsist of the autonomous controller
gers. Our first task was to study the
such as posture control and the comfinger motion and then try to optifortable power assist controller
mize a robotic mechanism that can
based on biological feedback and
replicate human motion of grasping.
predictive feed forward. Bleex is a
Each link in the finger was replicated
Fig. 2 Markers on the finger links.
wearable human amplifier mainly
by a 4-bar mechanism. Three triangle
for use by soldiers to carry heavy
shaped markers denoting a coupler
loads. The major thrust of research in this area has been
triangle of the 4-bar mechanism with the three ends
restoration of locomotion or arm motion by using Funcmarked with Red, Green and Blue color dots were placed
tional Electrical Stimulation (FES) or for paraplegic paon the lateral side of the finger as shown in Fig. 2.
10
Control using human EMG signal:
A human subject was asked to perform the Flexion
Surface EMG signals were extracted from the arm musmotions (bending motions resulting in the decrease in
cles, processed and then used to control the finger exothe angle between the two parts) of the three joints
skeleton to move along with the finger.
MetaCarpoPhalangeal (MCP), ProximaTwo electrodes were placed, one on the
lInterPhalangeal (PIP), and DistalInterFlexor Digitorum Superficialis muscles
Phalangeal (DIP) and these motions
on the anterior side and another on the
were recorded using a single camera,
Extensor Indices on the dorsal side of
as the finger was moving in the flexion
the forearm as shown in Fig. 4. Three
plane alone. The camera was mounted
male subjects in the age group of 20 to
vertically above the finger so that the
30 years voluntarily participated in the
top view from the camera has been
EMG extraction process. The subject
observed. The corresponding phalanx
was asked to move the index finger to
marker trajectory was computed by a
the maximum flexion and extension
customized MATLAB program. Then
positions and finally relax back the
the coupler points of the marker trajecFig. 3 Optimal 4-bars driving each
finger. The subject was then asked to
tory were given as input for the three
finger joint (top and front view).
flex the finger in 15 degrees increments,
position synthesis of the 4-bar
with an approximate constant velocity
mechanism. Optimal 4-bar mechanisms
(15 degrees was covered in 5, 4 and 3 seconds respecrepresenting each joint, for the human index finger were
tively) and keep the finger in that position for the next 5
synthesized using Genetic Algorithm, based on the path
seconds. This process continued until the maximum flexgeneration method. The main reason for considering the
ion position was reached. Then the subject extended the
4-bar mechanism is that the instantaneous joint centre of
finger in a similar fashion up to the initial position. The
the human finger joints cannot be represented by simple
EMG signals were recorded during the whole process.
revolute joints. Conventional three-position synthesis of
4-bar with specified fixed pivot positions has been used.
In effect, four free choices i.e. the x and y co-ordinates of
The features measured for each of these observations
the two pivots, instead of the joint angles of the links
were Root Mean Square, Wave Length and Discrete Fouhave been taken. This approach will lead to a set of nonrier Coefficients. Each of these features was then normallinear equations containing transcendental functions of
ized corresponding to the features measured for maxithe unknown angles. Once the angles have been
mum flexion readings. For feed forward MLP these feaobtained, the set of four dyad equations can be solved for
tures were used as it is, while for RNN the difference befour unknowns representing the vectors of the dyads.
tween current feature values and the features from preThe Optimal 4-bars based exoskeleton developed by
vious observation were used. For each of these observaRapid Prototyping and actuated by ultrasonic motors is
tions, a set of desired output was obtained from the exshown in Fig. 3.
periment. These outputs were: a) Flexion/Extension/
Rest: Whether the finger was undergoing Flexion or ExConventional three-position synthesis of 4-bar with
tension. b) Angle: Current angular position of the finger
specified fixed pivot positions has been used. In effect,
(from 0 to 70 or 85 deg). c) Velocity: Velocity of motion of
four free choices i.e. the x and y co-ordinates of the two
finger. (Constant value during motion and zero during
pivots, instead of the joint angles of the links have been
rest). Thus, the features and the labels constituted the
taken. This approach will lead to a set of non-linear
patterns given to the artificial networks for learning.
equations containing transcendental functions of the
Also, since temporal variations EMG signal was provided
unknown angles. Once the angles have been obtained,
and not the EMG parameters as input to the network, the
the set of four dyad equations can be solved for four unvariation of EMG signals with change in the states of finknowns representing the vectors of the dyads. The Optiger motion could be learnt better. Using the learned relamal 4-bars based exoskeleton developed by Rapid Prototion between the input EMG and the finger angle the exotyping and actuated by ultrasonic motors is shown in Fig.
skeleton was controlled.
3.
Fig. 4 (left) Electrodes fixed on the two sides of the arm, (right) EMG signal extracted, feature extraction, training neural
11
Experiments on exoskeleton control using brain EEG
signals:
All motor actions like walking, arm movement, grasping
etc. originate in the brain and then performed by muscles via the neural system, hence the best way to control
any exoskeleton would be to tap the signals right from
their origin in the brain. This is of course easier said than
done as the brain signals are very weak and are produced inside the brain and are difficult to tap using external electrodes. We are currently analyzing brain signals to try to learn how the brain signals the arm and
finger to perform certain tasks. An external cap with
electrodes is fitted on a subjects head and he imagines
performing various hand and finger motions, without
actually performing them, as shown in Fig. 5. The signals
are recorded analyzed and then a mapping created between the signal and the corresponding motor action.
Once the mapping is established the signals can be used
to control the exoskeleton. We are still struggling at
understanding this mapping!
Fig.5 Electrode cap fitted on the subjects head and the
corresponding signal extracted from the brain.
studying brain signals and their use in robots, an understanding of brain signals will lead us to discover more
about our own thinking, learning process and ultimately
our own existence. As in the movie ‘MATRIX’ ultimately
everything is an electrical signal or is it?
M. Felix Orlando ([email protected]) obtained his
Masters from the Intelligent Robotics Lab in the Korea
Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, Korea. He is
currently a third year doctoral student in the Department
of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur under the guidance
of Profs. Ashish Dutta, Anupam Saxena and Laxmidhar
Behera. This article is the first in line for his column Felixologue. His research focuses on the design and control of
exoskeleton robots using EEG and EMG signals for rehabilitation of stroke patients.
Conclusion:
Robotics has come a long way from being dumb industrial machines to helping patients and in rehabilitation
(stroke, paralysis, disease, etc). This article described an
attempt being made to design and control exoskeleton
robots for serving humans better. With the world population aging at a fast rate it is imperative that such robots
will become more and more popular. Apart from simply
Encouraging
‘Hands on Learning’
Vamsee Krishna, Yardstick
Each parent wants his children to opt one of the set of the professions that would be lucrative and prestigious, and in
this rat race process, many a times children’s desires, imagination and creativity all remain stunted. Going beyond
the textbook and exploring the world beyond empowers the children and assist them in every sphere of their life, that
is the thought behind formation of Yardstick (www.yardstick.co.in).
We are living in times when everything around us is
changing—the very way we live, think and communicate.
We are currently witnessing exciting innovations in the
learning sphere as well.
As students, all of us have felt the need for more freedom
to explore our world the way we want and understand.
But more often than not, our environment doesn’t allow
us to explore beyond a certain limit. This limitation may
be at all levels of our society—home, school or outside.
We are bound by do’s and don’ts that stunt our imagination. As we grow, we attain academic qualifications, well
paying jobs and a many other things, but deep
inside, there is an urge to do something different and
take the unbeaten track. The first step is to listen to the
inner voice and take the plunge—then comes the
contentment and the sense of achievement.
12
period of time, we want to set up cost effective models
wherein schools in rural and semi-urban areas can also
experience this joy of learning.
Just to give an insight into what has made us successful, I
would like to share our philosophy and objectives of our
programs.
To share my own experience as to how we have become
successful entrepreneurs today brings back fond
memories– the ups and downs of setting up a company,
the joy of seeing it grow, forging new relationships and
new ideas. We initially left our good paying jobs to start
Yardstick, as we strongly felt that the current educational system needs better assessment platforms. We
later realized that what was required was more than just
a good assessment system– we required to focus on the
whole learning methodology. There is a huge gap at
present that we need to
bridge, to transform
dreaming children into
youngsters who can
nurture their dreams
and turn them into reality. It was during this
time, we understood
that children need to be
empowered and given opportunities to explore beyond
the textbook and go on to understand the world around
them by exploring, experimenting and questioning.
Most of our programs have the following philosophy:
 Science as a process of inquiry
 Students are actually allowed to perform science as
they construct meaning and acquire understanding.
 Activities focus on core concepts, allowing students to
develop thinking processes and encouraging them to
question and seek answers that enhance their knowledge and thereby acquire an understanding of the physical universe in which they live.
 Students are presented with problem-solving activities
that incorporate authentic, real-life questions and issues
in a format that encourages collaborative effort, dialogues and generalization to broader ideas and application.
Learning Objectives:
 Better understanding of science concepts– lesser time
to learn them and they remain embedded for ever
 Applying the concepts to real life situations
 Evaluating the given situation in a scientific way
 Synthesizing Solutions for real life problems
We have since then transformed Yardstick into a completely child oriented company, developing ‘Hands on
Learning’ methodology for children of all ages. Though
we have a long way to go, I am happy that we were able
to understand and also had the commitment to see our
vision through.
Auxiliary Objectives:
 Higher Order Thinking Skills
 Scientific Methodology / promotion of Scientific Temper
 Creativity and Design Skill
 Better Communication and Team Skills
When we started the organization, we had a good idea
and we had the vision to take it forward, but within a
short while, we realized that the idea needed to be
backed up with strong financial plans as well. We needed
to make our ideas translate into financially viable investments and that was a big challenge for us, as none of us
was from a management background.
Course Structure (On Skills):
 Following the Instructions
 Trouble Shooting
 Innovating
 Integrating
 Designing
 Creating
One of the lessons we learnt over time is to have a strong
vision statement and an action plan to achieve it.
Attracting talent and retaining employees has become
easier once we were able to articulate and create examples of this shared vision.
Today we are at a position where we have many individuals influencing our society and motivating us to
dream bigger. Looking at the positive growth and the
way the child starts looking at the world around him
when given an opportunity to learn on his own, we have
been backed by a number of people in the learning
industry and academicians to take our initiative forward
to children across different societies.
We believe that we have taken the right step towards
redesigning how children are currently taught in our
country. We believe in a partnership of education, learning and innovation, and have realized that the child is
our end customer and that we need to focus on delivering him a complete and enjoyable learning experience.
We are investing in our tomorrow, in the future of our
country.
Now, we are focusing on developing teaching and training modules, learning aids and teaching aids in the form
of toys and games to facilitate a better learning experience. We are working to make ‘hands-on-learning’ an
integral part of curriculum at the school level. Over a
Images used in this article have been taken from:
1.
http://sundararajan.sulekha.com/albums/bydate/2009-07-01/
slideshow/263400.htm
2.
http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/282125-781-3.jpg
13
Abhyast
Boeing- IIT Kanpur
Autonomous Vehicle Project
IIT Kanpur, in its Golden Jubilee year has embarked
upon student projects, creating avenues and
platforms for budding, innovative thoughts and ideas,
thus tapping the immense potential of the student
community. The Autonomous Vehicle project named
‘Abhyast’ (a Sanskrit word meaning ‘getting accustomed to its environment’) is one such initiative
under the Dean, R& D sponsored by Boeing, the l
eading aerospace and defence corporation. The
project is being coordinated by Dr. S. Bhattacharya,
(Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur).
Sriram G.
In 1998, Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) launched the Tactical Mobile Robotics (TMR)
program with a long-term objective of dominating the
urban battle space by employing a team of mobile robots
in interior and exterior conditions. The program provided a strong impetus to the development of light
unmanned ground vehicles and many autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles were made
under this program. In the next few years many
such programs were launched leading to development of many vehicles in the category of small
UGVs.
Introduction
An open ended problem statement on making an autonomous ground vehicle within a dimensional constraint of
1 feet was floated among the student community and
proposals were invited last year in the month of January.
After two rounds of selection, a group of eight second year undergraduates were selected for realising their model by a judging panel. The objective
of the project is making a small autonomous robot
which can operate in an alien environment with
minimum operator intervention.
What is an autonomous robot?
ABHYAST in the making
An autonomous robot is defined as a robot that
can perform desired tasks in highly unstructured
environments without human intervention, saving
itself from all the hazards that it may face during
its execution. Such a robot can be of great use to
human personnel working in hazardous areas such as
urban military combats, deep mines etc. and can work in
a much more safe and efficient manner than humans. In a
nutshell, it is an independent agent capable of promoting
its own welfare. However, developing such a robot is a
complex problem and we have to clearly define our purpose and the level of autonomy that we wish to achieve
in our vehicle.
Designed primarily for navigation through an
unstructured environment, the vehicle is in its
early phase of engineering, would do simple path
planning and obstacle avoidance, to reach its destined position, collecting pictures from environment and
sending it to Operator Control Unit (OCU). In the later
stages the vehicle will morph itself into a much sophisticated version, whereby it will simultaneously localize
and map itself, stream live videos and optimize itself under different modes of function. Building a robot, however requires more expertise than simple programming.
Locomotion actuators manipulators, control
system, sensor suites, efficient power supply
well engineered software, all of these subsystems have to be designed to fit into an appropriate package suitable for carrying out the
robots task.
State of Art in this area
The first mobile robot to use intelligence to
control its actions dates back to SHAKEY developed in Stanford University in 1969 by Nils
Nilsson which could navigate through indoor
structured environments such as office buildings. Since 70’s, research has been going on
increasing the autonomous functionality of
unmanned vehicles. Notable development in
the 1970s is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Lunar Rover designed for planetary exploration.
Body Engineering
The main considerations in designing the vehicle were the choice of locomotion and drive
system, space & weight optimization, terrain
adaptability and obstacle scaling mechanism.
Since the vehicle would be manoeuvring through
14
unstructured landscape, tracked locomotion system was
preferred to wheeled or legged systems, which were either too un-adaptive or too complex both mechanically
and in controls. Tracks help in adapting to surface undulations and provide good stability with its large ground
contact area although frictional losses lead to significant
increase in power consumption. The drive is based on
skid steering mechanism where steering is accomplished
by actuating each track at a different rate or in a different
direction, causing the tracks to slip, or skid, on the
ground. Skid steering is the most convenient drive
system although it poses challenges to the odometry (use
of data from the movement of actuators to estimate
change in position over time) and localization of the
vehicle.
would be using a powerful processor. The OBC would
perform a lot of parallel tasks, some of which are detailed below:
Navigation Control: - Navigation of the robot is one of
the major processes that need to be monitored for attaining autonomy. It is the process of reading and controlling the motion of the vehicle. Navigational data primarily consists of acceleration (along three axes), angular acceleration and absolute position. In fact, navigation
control basically culminates to estimation of robot’s position or, simply stated, answering the question “Where
am I”? Position can be estimated in the following two
ways: Relative Positioning: This technique, as the name itself
suggests, measures the position vector of the robot with
respect to its initial position. This task is accomplished
by integrating the motion parameters (acceleration
along the 3 axes and angular rate derivative measured by
the Inertial measurement unit (IMU)) .The IMU is
mounted at a strategic position on the robot. This is a
better approach than using odometry (calculating motor
rotations) since ours is a tracked vehicle which has the
inherent disadvantage of slipping.
However, simple track geometry such as in a tank would
offer us limited scaling possibilities in terms of height of
the obstacle thus we had to come up with some other
design to augment the obstacle scaling capabilities of the
vehicle. The solution found was inspired by design of a
similar robot “PackBot” developed by the iRobot Corporation. Flippers are a pair of auxiliary tracks which vary
the footprints of the vehicle depending on the amount of
traction needed. They change their orientation to facilitate the vehicle in adapting to surface undulations and
scaling obstacles that are encountered while manoeuvring the terrain. A Passive Double track mechanism is
employed wherein a single pair of motors actuates the
main tracks and the flippers. Another motor is used to
play with the orientation of the flippers.
Absolute Positioning: It is the estimation of position of
vehicle in a global frame of reference and is accomplished with the help of a Global Positioning System
(GPS) coupled with an electronic compass for direction
sensing. Now the question arises- What is the need of
this when we already have a relative positioning system
on our robot. We know that the readings of the IMU are
erroneous and it accumulates with time. So we use the
absolute positioning system as a corrective measure to
keep the error fairly small.
The choice of material was also a crucial parameter. The
chassis will be fabricated out of aluminium composite
which will not only provide high strength but will also
drastically reduce the weight of the vehicle. The drive
system and the batteries are stacked close to the base to
keep the centre of gravity as low as possible while the
electronic components are all stacked over it to shield
them away from vibrations and magnetic effects of the
drive system. Robust and lightweight polypropylene rubber tracks shall be employed for better traction on the
terrain. The vehicle would easily fit inside a cube of side
30cm and would weigh around 7-8 kg. The estimated
speed of the vehicle during normal operation would be 0.5 m/s.
Filtering of Data: : The measurements made by these
devices are pretty noisy and if not properly dealt with,
can accumulate an error of up to 10 meters between the
estimated and real position. So we need a proper filtering mechanism for reducing the noise level in the
acquired data. For this, we are using Kalman Filtering,
which is described below:.
On Board Computer and Navigation
(OBC)
The On Board Computer is the brain of
our robot. Anything computational ranging from simple motor control to health
monitoring is done by the OBC. We know
that to give the robot a certain degree of
autonomy, we need to carry out a lot of
complicated tasks in a parallel fashion.
Hence to meet our requirements, we
15
Various algorithms which may be
put to use by us are path planning
by fuzzy logic controllers, state
based behavior Control, Dijkstra’s
algorithm, temporal differencing,
and even Neural Networks!!
Kalman Filtering: Kalman filtering
is a mathematical tool which filters
the acquired data with the help of
stochastic tools in a recursive manner. Kalman filter models the measurements as normally distributed
due to the inherent noise. We need
to estimate the initial data set
(acceleration and position) and the
error covariance matrix associated
with the devices (IMU and GPS +
compass). The filter then performs a
series of statistical computations
and as the process continues, the
error from the real value finally reduces to highly acceptable levels. It has been observed
that the reduction in error is up to 90%.
Batteries: Li ion battery packs will
be used as they have high power
and energy densities. The bulk of
the power will be consumed for the
locomotion of the vehicle. The
batteries can power the vehicle for
approximately 1 hr.
Health Data Monitoring: Last but not the least is the
health monitoring of the robot, which includes scheduled
dispatch of health data like Tilt, Pitch, Speed, Battery
status etc. to a monitoring or control unit and taking the
necessary action in case of emergency-like if the robot
has run out of power or is stuck somewhere. We plan to
send the data through GSM network.
Path Planning: Path planning is basically an intelligent
fusion of algorithms which helps the robot to decide a
path to its destination based upon the surroundings (or
obstacles, stated simply) as sensed by the robot itself.
The inputs required for this are the obstacle positions
which are acquired through the laser scanner, sonar and
Infra red sensors. The laser scanner provides a 240 degree obstacle profile within 5 meters radius around the
robot. Since it can only sense obstacles with height above
Conclusion
Using all the above adaptive control processes our UGV
should be able to traverse a given route autonomously
negotiating difficult obstacles while protecting itself
from collisions and falls. The phase I of the project would
be completed by February 2010. The Phase II of the project has also been initiated and a new group of 16 students have been selected by the advisory committee,
who would focus on the System Optimisation, Health
monitoring, and developing gas sensors for detection
and monitoring in chemically hostile environment. They
would also be working on swarm intelligence in which
the master robot Abhyast will coordinate with a number
of slave robots to accomplish specific tasks. Get prepared
to find ABHYAST roaming around in our campus without
human intervention!
Sriram G. ([email protected]) is a third year undergraduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering
at IIT Kanpur. His research interests include structural
analysis and design and finite element methods (FEM) in
structures.
the horizontal plane on which it is mounted, so to avoid
other obstacles (which we may even surmount using our
flipper assists), we place the IR proximity sensors at
strategic locations which may act as interrupts in our
regular path planning indicating an immediate obstacle.
2010- International Year of Biodiversity
The United Nations has declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) - a celebration of life on earth
and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. The main objectives behind IYB are to raise awareness of the importance of
conserving biodiversity for human well-being and promote understanding of the economic value of biodiversity, enhance
public knowledge of the threats to biodiversity and means to conserve it, and encourage organizations (and through
them individuals) to take direct or indirect biodiversity conservation activities. For more details, please visit http://
www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/ and http://www.countdown2010.net/year-biodiversity.
16
S
C
I
E
N
T
O
O
N
Puneet Singh, NERD Team member
Do you want to make a beginning in astronomy? The
very first thing to do is observe. Observe the sky that you
see every day, every night more keenly and try to deduce
patterns in the stars and their motion. Do you see some
patterns of stars that remain constant over time, i.e. do
you see the same pattern every night? These patterns are
called as constellations.
Twinkle Twinkle
Little Star
Astronomy 101
(Getting started)
Now coming to the motions of the stars, since the same
patterns are found to repeat themselves, we make a
crude assumption that all the stars are fixed on a sphere
of infinite radius concentric to the earth, called the
'celestial sphere', and that the celestial sphere rotates
about the fixed earth from east to west every sidereal
day. A sidereal day is approximately 23hrs and 56min
and is the time taken by the earth to rotate once about its
axis. 24 hours is the average time between two noon’s,
essentially its the average length of a day. Why is there a
difference between the two will be explained in Fig 1.
Karthik Vijayakumar
the earth would have completed one rotation in one
year, this one rotation is essentially what that one day
difference is, over the year.
We see that the earth has to rotate a little more than 360
degrees to face the sun every day, this time between
noons is 24 hours and is called the 'solar day', hence the
time for a complete rotation of the earth is actually lesser
than 24 hours, it comes out to be 23 hours and 56 minutes approximately. This 4 minute difference per day
becomes a whole day over the year. Now suppose the
earth didn't rotate every 23hrs 56mins and it only
revolved around the sun, then with respect to the sun,
Now let us get back to constellations. We understand
that there are consistent patterns in the sky and hence in
the celestial sphere. Now consider the plane of rotation
of the earth and extend it to infinity, it would intersect
the celestial sphere in a circle, this line is called the ecliptic. The ecliptic represents the path of the sun in the celestial sphere over the year, i.e. if we note the position of
17
equator, due to the earth’s rotation, the
other the annual motion of the sun along
the ecliptic due to the revolution of the
earth around the sun. Similar to the
equinoxes there are two points on the
ecliptic which are farthest from the
celestial equator, these are the two
solstices, the winter solstice and the
summer solstice, which correspond to
the shortest and the longest day respectively. (Fig. 2)
the sun on the celestial sphere every
noon from a fixed place, the curve that
we would trace on the celestial sphere
would be the ecliptic. Now the ecliptic
passes through certain constellations in
the celestial sphere, these constellations
are called the zodiac. There are
exactly twelve of them, which is why
there are only 12 zodiac constellations.
The sun stays in each constellation for
the same period of time, which is why
there are 12 months a year.
Now that we understand equinoxes and
solstices, let us get to our old question,
why is Aries the first zodiac constellation.
Now that we know what are zodiac
constellations, let us try to answer a
fundamental question, why is Aries the
first zodiac constellation. To answer this
we first have to understand what are
equinoxes and solstices. As we all know
the earths axis of rotation is not exactly
perpendicular to its plane of revolution,
this is what causes the seasons on the
earth. Now extend the plane of the equator of the earth to the celestial sphere,
the circle in which it intersects the
sphere is called the celestial equator.
One can understand that equinoxes and
solstices occur at exactly the same
points on the earths orbit every year,
hence they correspond to fixed points in
Fig 1
space, in the frame of reference of the
Source:
http://hansgunawan- sun and the solar system. Hence they can
astronomy.blogspot.com/2009/03/ serve as point of reference, during Greek
w a k t u - s i d e r i s - d a n - w a k t u - times the transition from winter to sumsinodis.html
mer was considered auspicious, hence
the vernal equinox was chosen as the
reference, one can observe that the vernal equinox lies in
A natural question would be, wouldn't the celestial move the zodiac constellation Aries, hence Aries was chosen as
the first zodiac constellation, and the remaining follow in
over the year since the earth revolves around the sun?
the order of the motion of the sun over the year.
One should realize the earth’s equatorial plane moves parallel as the earth revolves around the sun, and since the
celestial sphere is of infinite radius, all the equatorial planes
would intersect in the same circle, hence there is a unique
celestial equator. The celestial sphere rotates on an axis
perpendicular to the celestial equator, hence all the points
on the sky would move parallel to the celestial equator.
Karthik Vijayakumar ([email protected]) is an M.Sc.
Mathematics student at IIT Kanpur. He is presently the
student coordinator of Astronomy Club at IIT Kanpur. His
research interests are Algebraic topology and Measure theory. Some of his other interests include Carnatic (South Indian Classical) Music, Adventure, Astronomy and Psychology.
Try to visualize at every point on the
earth the celestial equator, it would be
a line from the east to the west. Now
the sun too must move parallel to the
celestial equator every day, but only
when the sun lies on the celestial equator, will it perfectly rise in the east and
set in the west giving us equal day and
night, but this happens exactly twice a
year, at the points of intersection of the
ecliptic and the celestial equator, these
two are the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox.
These are the two points on the earths
orbit when the length of the day and
night are equal. So now, we are able to
visualize the two motions of the sun on
the celestial sphere, one the everyday
movement parallel to the celestial
Fig 2
Source: http://www.glyphweb.com/esky/_images/diagrams/vernalequinox.gif
18
Secrets of Good Teaching
Interview with Dr. Lilavati Krishnan
(Head, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT K)
Mohit Kumar Jolly and Puneet Singh
Dr. Lilavati Krishnan needs no introduction. She joined the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT
Kanpur in 1978 and has been with the institute since then. She is known for encouraging critical thinking in her
courses, and is the apple of many eyes of students who have ever attended her PSY 151 (Introduction to Psychology)
class. NERD team members get the privilege to have an exclusive interview with her regarding her experience,
pedagogy and other social aspects. Here are some excerpts:
I have been here, not a single day did I have any regret. I
may be an odd creature out in this technical institute,
but I am privileged to be here and it has certainly paid its
rewards.
NERD: You have been a faculty member in IIT Kanpur for
more than three decades now. What is the most
distinguishing feature you feel about the institute?
Dr. Krishnan: Freedom -freedom from every point of
view, freedom to choose what you want to teach, how to
teach- this is the most outstanding feature of the
institute. In addition, the intellectual level of the students
as well as the faculty is inspiring and academically
stimulating. The environment is clean and peaceful, and
there are no compelling norms. I am free to live life the
way I want to.
NERD: We have heard some professors even vouching
for closing the HSS department at IITK. What, in your
opinion, is the significance of HSS courses in an
undergraduate engineering degree?
Dr. Krishnan: Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.
My own view is the following. Prof. Kelkar was a great
visionary, who made HSS courses a part of the IIT curriculum here. Let us ask the question - Why is HSS
NERD: A professor of Humanities and Social Sciences
needed ? If we are making engineers here, aren't they
(HSS) in an engineering institute for the past 30 years human beings first ? They might deal with machines but
what made you choose such a unique post?
ultimately they have to deal with human beings. HSS
Dr. Krishnan: When I joined the institute, I was aware
courses also teach B Tech stuthat I am getting into an engi“Freedom to what you want dents to think in a different way
neering institute, and it is going
to be strange for me, but I knew to teach, how to teach– this is and in a different direction. I
think that should be the
it would be special, because I
the most distinguishing
philosophy.
had a unique role to play. IIT
Kanpur was one institute where
feature of the institute.”
Then comes the criticism that
HSS courses are an important
HSS courses teach only theories rather than practice.
part of curriculum, and this was a big reason for me to
This may be partly true, but there is an attempt to bring
come here.
out the practical aspect along with the principles. HSS
courses in Psychology, Sociology, Economics and
I experienced great exhilaration in my first week itself.
Philosophy talk of theories on the working of society.
Incidentally, when I joined, one of the faculty taking
English is about appreciating and enjoying what people
a psychology course had to go somewhere and she
write.
asked me to take her class. So, to get an idea of what was
going on in the lectures and how it was taught, I sat in
It is sad that even among our own faculty, some feel
her class, and I got the taste of how the students were as
there is no place for HSS, but many alumni of the instian audience. One lecture was enough. Such a beautiful
tute have mentioned that HSS is one of the distinguishing
experience ! Lots of questions were asked and the
features of their academic curriculum here, and it is
students responded very actively to the teaching. I
something they have used the most.
realized that I have a challenge, but it was nothing to be
afraid of, and the best part was that I knew the next day
there would be more of this. Students were so willing to
NERD: Students love and respect you for the way you
learn that it always made me excited and more prepared.
have been teaching PSY 151 and many other courses.
It was quite different from my first teaching experience
What pedagogical techniques adopted by you always
(before joining IIT Kanpur). In past 31 years and 25 days
made you so different?
19
Dr. Krishnan: That is a difficult question, and my honest
experiences in class.
answer is that I cannot specify any formal pedagogical
Dr. Krishnan: I try to consider every class an interesting
technique as such. I have been self-analytical in the way
experience for me. Sometimes students make remarks
I teach. I believe that teaching is learned, not from
or questions that are really eyeopeners. I will give one
books, but from students. It is not a formal technique
example that stands out in memory. Once, as part of the
that necessarily makes a good teacher. The philosophy is
lecture, I asked my class what would be an ‘unusual
to have the commitment. As a student I
event’. Someone said “A fan falling on my
was fortunate to have excellent teachers “Teaching is learnt head”. Then someone said loudly : "You
myself - not in terms of being known, but
to class 5 minutes late !" That
not from books, but coming
in terms of having a presence in class,
really struck me. It put more pressure on
from students.”
and having an influence. And I have
me never to be late for my class.. This
always had the right kind of students as
comment made me realize that students
well.
notice even small aspects of a teacher’s behaviour, such
as punctuality.
NERD: You have also authored ‘Teacher lessons’ in Dr.
Viney Kirpal’s ‘Secrets of Good teaching’. What
NERD: You are known among students for encouraging
pedagogical changes would you suggest at IIT Kanpur?
critical thinking in your courses. From your experience,
Dr. Krishnan: I can't teach anyone how to teach. Let the
what can you say about whether the present rat race
behind JEE brought a decline in students’ critical
teacher teach the way he/she wants to. Thank God that
this freedom exists at IIT Kanpur!
thinking and learning attitude?
Dr. Krishnan: The attitude has changed to ‘test taking’
Some teachers can be extremely creative. We have facrather than ‘critical thinking’. But the potential and abilulty who show small cleverly designed experiments
ity for critical thinking are very much there. The
even outside the class, or have unusual ways of presentimpression that good marks is all that matters has
ing visual aids. Let the teacher himself/ herself find out
strengthened. Unfortunately, studies in school rely on
what makes the students responsive in his/ her class.
non-critical thinking because that is far more easy for
students, and also for teachers.
Regarding student attendance, I feel that ensuring
attendance in class is not really a part of pedagogy.
It is largely up to the teachers to make students think
Whether or not one teaches well cannot be gauged
creatively and critically. When I have to make a question
merely by high or low student attendance. The two
paper for universities, the task is easy, and I can't even
things are only loosely related. At another level, even
think of including a critical thinking question. Here, on
teachers have a bad semester from time to time. From
the other hand, I take 3 days to make questions for a
the point of view of the teacher, when you have low
quiz.
attendance, the feedback in the class is missing. The joy
goes out of teaching.
NERD: We have been hearing about the decline of
students’ interest in academics. Attendance has
Regarding the content of courses, there has been an emwitnessed an exponential decrease by students in last
phasis on reducing the content of courses on the ground
one decade. What, from the point of view of a teacher do
that too much content may create stress. I believe that
you think are the major reasons for the same?
cutting down the content too much, or making courses
Dr. Krishnan: Low attendance is a multiply caused
too easy may not be good. You must put in some
phenomenon. One of the reasons could of course be dull
challenge for the students. There is something called
teaching and boring classes, but I don’t think this is the
positive stress (eustress), and students must be trained
most important one. Another reason, I feel, is photocopto cope with this kind of stress.
ied notes. Why is it necessary for a
This would be one way to bring “There is something called student to come to class if he
out excellence. Take the case of
positive stress (eustress) knows he can photocopy his
athletes. They keep raising the bar
friend’s notes ? This factor has
and students must be
until they reach a level that they
come with time. In a way, technolcannot manage. In other words,
trained to cope with it” ogy has played a huge role in
you must ‘push’ a person to make
diminishing attendance. Photohim realize his potential, and hence some optimal level of
copy machines only came here during the mid 80s – bestress is unavoidable. Otherwise this will no longer be
fore that, decreasing attendance was not a big problem,
an institute of excellence. In this regard, we have to lisas far as I can remember.
ten to student feedback of course, but with proper adjustments.
Then class notes also started to be available on internet.
In my class, a student asked me to put up my slides on
the web. I asked him, "You want another reason not to
NERD: Please tell us about some of your interesting
20
friends, but once that box was in your home, one had no
need to go out talk with people. The overall interaction
has gone down in cities and this may be a feature of
society at large.
come to my class?" Some professors feel that they can
put up notes on e- bulletin boards and evaluate students
based on group discussions on those topics, a model that
is followed overseas. In my opinion, this mode still takes
away the face-to-face interaction between teachers and
students. What is a classroom then ?
NERD: You conducted the Annual conference of National
Academy of Psychology at IIT Kanpur in December 2007
themed ‘Psychology, Technology and Society’. Could you
Some faculty members do not seem to face a problem
tell us more about the conference?
with student attendance. Some give weightage for attendance. I also give a small percentage of marks for 'class
Dr. Krishnan: I must admit that in the beginning I was
participation' in some of my courses. Such measures
not very comfortable with this theme, but it was while
may still not ensure attendance. A new feature that may
writing the proposal for funding from various agencies
account for low attendance is the increase in numbers.
that I discovered connections between these intermingled aspects. During the conference,
The students feel that in a large
“I
am
in
favor
of
we had very good sessions that
class, his/her absence will not be
noticed. It is indeed impossible to
mandatory attendance brought out the connection bethese three components. Dr.
see who is present or absent in
policy, as it has become tween
Dhande gave an excellent talk on
large classes of 80-90 students, but
this is an extremely recent necessary, unfortunately.” technology and society, and we also
had other presentations relating
phenomenon.
technology and psychology. Some of these were in the
area of health psychology, which brought in the impact
NERD: Among all IITs, IIT Kanpur is the only institute
of technology and psychology on society.
where there is no mandatory attendance policy as of
now, and the current ARC is thinking of the same. Do you
think that the time has come to change the ‘Spare the rod
NERD: You have held responsible positions in academic
administration – Chairman of Curriculum Development
and spoil the child’ policy of IIT Kanpur?
Monitoring Committee (CDMC), member in previous
Dr. Krishnan: Ideally, there should be no need for a
UGRC, member of Senate Educational Policy (SEPC) etc.
penalty for absence, or a reward for attendance. But I am
Kindly share some of your administrative experience.
in favor of a mandatory attendance policy, as it has
Dr. Krishnan: In CDMC, I became involved deeply. I
become necessary, unfortunately. Ultimately I hope that
learned a lot, especially when I had to make reports on
students would themselves realize the importance of
all things being done or discussed in various committees.
coming to class, and there would be no need to enforce
anything.
All core courses were evaluated very comprehensively
and with meticulous attention to the details. Considering
all the developments in the field, the courses are continuNERD: What changes have you observed in the studentally updated. Even today, constant reviewing of the curfaculty interaction as a social psychologist?
riculum is going on. The core course component is
Dr. Krishnan: The interaction has changed drasticallyhandled by CCC (Core Curricunot just the frequency but also
the nature. The causes are “I would particularly like to lum Committee). All must continue. The flexibility within the
difficult to state. People have
encourage
student
activities
limits set by the system at IIT
tried to give explanations such
in areas like CCWP.”
Kanpur must be maintained.
as students not having enough
free time, and going through
stress, especially since the time when the 5 year B.Tech
NERD: Tell us something about CCWP (Center for
curriculum was compressed into 4 years. Not only
Creative Writing and Production) and its activities.
faculty-student, but also student-student interaction
Dr. Krishnan: At present, Head HSS is the ex-officio
went down. I don’t agree that this (change from 5-year to
Chairman of CCWP. In its early days, CCWP was an inde4-year programme) was the only or the main reason. In
pendent unit, and was headed by a well-known Hindi
fact, I feel that if stress goes up, then the interaction
writer Mr. Giriraj Kishore (who had also been Registrar
should also go up, because the need to talk about your
at IIT Kanpur). He conducted several literary and other
problems also increases. There must be other explanaevents. After his retirement, the Head, HSS was made the
tions for the change in faculty-student interaction.
Chairperson of CCWP. Many creative endeavors can be
encouraged by this unit, and I would particularly like to
I think this problem is not confined to the boundaries of
encourage student activities in this area. I am saddened
IIT Kanpur alone. Times have changed. People have
to hear that Alfaaz, the literary festival of the Students
become self-centered, and it is because they can afford
Gymkhana has been discontinued. It was a beautiful
to. For example, before television came, the only source
event. Maybe CCWP can help the students to revive this
of entertainment was talking with your neighbors, and
activity. Other activities are also possible.
21
NERD: We have also heard that you have deep interest in
music. Kindly elaborate on the same.
Dr. Krishnan: Music is a part of my life. While at IIT
Kanpur, I learned vocal Classical Hindustani Music
formally from 1980 to 1996. I still continue my own
practice although not as regularly as I would like it to be.
NERD: What is your final message for the students?
Dr. Krishnan: Be the best you can be as a person. Get the
maximum out of yourself. Work not to win awards, but
to get a sense of satisfaction. Awards may bring you
credit and recognition, but they may not necessarily give
you long-term happiness.
NERD: What are your plans after retiring as a faculty?
Dr. Krishnan: Besides reading and writing, I would like
to participate in community work. So far I have not been
able to contribute as much as I want to in this area. My
primary responsibility and role as an academician has
not allowed me time to do so – I would like to do that
kind of work after retirement if possible.
Mohit Kumar Jolly ([email protected]) is a final year
undergraduate at IIT Kanpur. He is interested in science
journalism and communication.
Puneet Singh ([email protected]) is a second year
undergraduate at IIT Kanpur. He is interested in Helicopters,
Rotor
crafts
and
Rockets.
He
also makes Cartoons in his spare time and reads books.
Egg yo
The future of kitchen and dining solutions
Arun M
The Egg yo is a smart solution whose primary goal is to meet the needs for preservation, preparation and storage of
food, by using existing technology and design a feasible, affordable and versatile solution. This project is being done
in collaboration with the Helsinki University of Technology, Rhode Island School of Design and MIT. This entry won
the first prize in DESIGN CONCLAVE organized by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry)
in 2008 in the category Product Design for Global market.
With the increase in population density of urban working youth in all the metros, space has become an important issue of concern, and hence management of spaces
through design of compact, multifunctional, space saving
solution is playing a vital role in bringing balance to this
demand and supply disharmony.
The backbone of the concept lies on the fact that egg is
one of the simplest examples of protection and nourishment from nature. The basic form and function of the
design is inspired from an egg. Hence the name Egg yo.
Egg yo will serve all the major functions of a kitchen on a
smaller scale.
The product ‘Egg yo’ is targeted to the user belonging to
the urban working youth having a technology driven
lifestyle. They are environment conscious, trend conscious, brand conscious and have a fast lifestyle. The
product design process can be explained as follows–
primary Requirements are food preservation, food
preparation, cleaning and food disposal. (Specifications
and Constraints as formulated for the project are as
given in table below.)
There are three different kinds of storage zones:
Qualitative
Compact
Quantitative
1000mm<length<1500mm
Mobile
1000mm<breadth<1500mm
Time saving
2150mm<height<1650mm
Energy efficient
Climatic class: 18-43° C
Easy maintenance
Life Durability: 7 to 10 years
Non Cold Storage: The two small stools as shown above
act as sitting provisions for the user as well as for storing
items like rice, potatoes, onions etc. which does not need
cold storage.
Freezer: At the bottommost part there is a normal
freezer which caters to the normal refrigerator function.
Having the circular
storage
spaces revolving
around the central axis user can
browse through
all the items in
the fridge by simply rotating the
disc. If some big
bottles, packets
etc. need to be
Fig. 1
Table 1
22
stored the circular shelf can be
adjusted as shown to fit the user’s
requirement.
closed hides the control panel and
thus brings aesthetic harmony to
the remaining 4 sections at the
middle of the egg yo. Existing technology with change in fabrication
can be used to fit the microwave
at its designated place.
Cold Storage: The topmost part
provides a chiller/cold storage
space. This space is divided into
two parts and can be operated
This section provides water for
separately. This gives the proviFig 2
sion for storage of items like fish,
washing as well as drinking. The
meat etc on one half and ice creams, butter, beverages
tap being operated by a smart control panel enabling the
etc on the other. The doors operate by a vertical lift
user to have hot or cold water a desired flow by just
swing mechanism.
moving a dot in the graph of the user interface (Fig 4).
The middle two edges can be rotated to get an electric
stove for cooking food as well as a table for having food
(Fig 2). Three electric burners aligned according to their
hierarchy of size along with a touch sensitive control unit
provides perfect mapping for the
user to cook food at the desired
burner. These are part of the system which can be pulled out when
required thus providing customizability of the solution according to
the user’s need.
The control unit for the burners in
the electric stove displays intensity
of colour according to the temperature of the burners and thus the
user can get an idea of how hot a
particular burner is from the colour information around the switch
as shown.
Technically the central supporting rod which holds all
the different modules at different levels has an inlet and
outlet in addition to the duct for electrical wire management.
There is a dust bin fixed with an
activated charcoal tray for preventing stinking of disposed materials.
This can be taken out and fixed with
convenience and ease. The crockery
storage space provides storage
space for a limited number of essential utensils and crockery items for
everyday use in a small family. Several assisting accessories can be
obtained according to user’s choice
for efficient storage of crockery
items.
Fig 3
The mixing grinding zone helps in
cutting, chopping, squashing of different food items during the preparation of food. It has a standard mixer
grinder with some assisting accessories like smart vegetable cutters etc.
The middle portion has 4 different sections: The microwave, the wash basin & Bin, the crockery storage section
and the mixing grinding section.
The Microwave has functions of Grill and Convection
with controls from an embedded smart touch control
panel. The Vertical swing lift operated lid when closed
hides the control panel
and thus brings aesthetic
harmony to the remaining 4 sections at the middle of the egg yo. Existing
technology with change
in fabrication can be
used to fit the microwave
at its designated place.
In a whole, the Egg yo provides all the essential functions
that can be required by a busy urban youth in preparing,
preserving and having his
food in a space constrained
environment
with ease and convenience.
Arun M ([email protected])
pursued his Masters in
Design in Design ProThis section provides
gramme, IIT Kanpur. My
water for washing as
interest areas are user
well as drinking. The tap
centered designing in the
being operated by a
branches of Industrial
Fig 4
smart control panel
Design and animation. I
am currently doing my Thesis on a project forwarded by
The Microwave has functions of Grill and Convection
NOKIA, Finland to develop a Mobile school Communicator
with controls from an embedded smart touch control
for the upliftment of educational scenario in underprivipanel (Fig 3). The Vertical swing lift operated lid when
leged section of third world countries.
23
Lunar Rover
- Explore The Moon
Ashish Bajpai, Rahul Singh, Diwakar
Agarwal and Kartikey Asthana
As part of Chandrayaan -2 ISRO plans to send a lunar rover to the moon for exploration and conducting scientific
experiments. IIT Kanpur is participating in the development of two subsystems of the rover related to 3D map generation, navigation and kinematic control. Students are actively participating in developing a prototype rover for
testing the algorithms developed for navigation and control. At present two groups consisting of UG, M.Tech and Phd
students are working on the two subsystems as detailed in the following article.
can be seen as a height function
which depends on the location (X, Y).
Height at each point (X, Y), f(X, Y) =Z
Visual Navigation Group
Introduction:
The objective of our team is to develop vision based obstacle detection, path planning algorithms,
analysis of the results and do simulation and experimental studies (to
be done at VSSC) with respect to
algorithms developed for the motion of the rover on lunar surface.
Currently we are working on 3-D
map generation of a given surrounding area.
Fig.1: Image of a laser line on a plane surface.
Methodology:
We are using laser based terrain
reconstruction technique for local
map generation. The basic principle
of laser based construction is that,
when a line laser is projected on a
terrain, due to unevenness and obstacles present on the surface, the
image of laser line (when taken
from a fixed point) is not a straight
line.
In Fig.1 it can be seen that when the
laser line falls on a plane terrain
then the profile is a straight line,
whereas in Fig.2 when an obstacle is
kept, the laser profile changes and a
shift is seen. This is the same principle that is applied in laser based
terrain reconstruction. The terrain
data is represented in terms of 3D
coordinates. The X and Y coordinates give us the location of the
points on the horizontal plain surface that touches the wheels of the
rover. The Z coordinates gives us
the height information. So, terrain
Fig.2: Image of a laser line on an uneven surface
Viewing map from point (1.5,0.5,1.0)
24
But the terrain is registered as a set
of points each having (X, Y, Z) coordinates. Z (height information) is
obtained from the shift that is seen
in the laser profile. The (X, Y) coordinates are obtained from the straight
line profile. The camera has to be
calibrated with two planes. One is
laser plane and other is the horizontal plane surface touching the bottom of the tires. Right now the task
of the robot is limited to carrying out
the local terrain reconstruction. That
is, with the robot position fixed, it is
made to model the local terrain i.e., a
circular region of 1 meter radius
centered on the robot. This is illustrated in Figure 3.
Robot for testing purposes:
Refer to Fig.4.
Sample height map generated:
In map, centre position corresponds
to rover. Map is divided in 3 colored
portion:
 White color region corresponds
to reference plane on which robot is
standing assuming it to be flat.
 Red color region is the region
where laser lines detects some obstacles.
 Black color region stands either
for the points those are outside scan
area or for the points where laser
line is not able to reach.
 Yellow line is X-axis, Light Green
line is Y-axis, Pink line is Z-axis.
Motor Control And Interfacing:
The rover will move on very rough
terrain that has obstacles, dust
layer, craters, etc. Hence as a first
step a one wheel test set up was
designed and fabricated to study
the interaction between one wheel
and the soft sand like terrain
(Fig.5). The task of this group has
been dividing into the following (a)
Interface the driving and steering
motors of the one wheel assembly
with the controlling computer system and to collect test data regarding slip, traction force etc., (b)
measure slip using vision and motors current, (c) design of rockerbogey mechanisms and design of a
prototype rover.
The wheel of the test set up, has 2
DOF and is driven using two servo
motors. We are interested in finding
the conditions under which the
wheels slips when subjected to a
load. For this the wheel is driven
with a constant velocity and the
body on which the wheel is
mounted is subjected to a drag force
by moving it in the opposite direction. This helps in simulating motion on an inclined surface, sinkage,
slip etc. Slip is measured by measuring the motor current and also by
using a vision camera. Presently as
the test is progressing, simultaneously a 6-wheel rover is being designed.
Fig.3: Local Terrain Reconstruction
rived directly onto a circuit board
and the number of rising edges were
counted; the gear ratio was then utilized to obtain a measure of the angular velocity. The magnitude and direction both were obtained by using
Channel A and Channel B of the encoder. A code is being developed for
varying the logic voltages in a manner so that the change in shaft load
does not change the shaft angular
velocity beyond a certain min error
range. Thus the code must work
against any changes in the shaft
speed.
A schematic figure of the proposed
rover being designed in collaboration with ISRO is given in Fig.6.
Team involved in this project is:
Diwakar Agrawal, Rahul Singh, Vikalp Sachan, Ashish Bajpai, Ankur
Agrawal, Himanshu Sagar, Rahul
Khatry, Deepk Kumar Behra, Kartikey Asthana, Mudit Nigam , Ankit
Fig.4: Robot for testing purposes
Gupta, Harjinder Singh and Srikant,
Manavaalan G.
Rahul Singh ([email protected]) is a
third year M.Sc. Mathematics student
at IIT Kanpur. His research interests
include Optimization and numerical
analysis.
D i w a k a r
A g a r w a l
([email protected]) is a third year
undergraduate in the Department of
Electrical Engineering at IIT Kanpur.
His research interests include Computer Vision, Micro-electronics and
Embedded Systems.
The main task of the students is in
Fig.5: One Wheel Test Setup
interfacing the motors with the controllers. The motor terminals receive inputs from the servoAshish
Kumar
Bajpai
amplifier ADS 50/5 which was used
([email protected]) is a third year
to amplify logic voltage generated
through the connector block of the
Mechanical Engineering at IIT KanPCI6251 DAQ board. Pulse Width
pur. His research interests include
Modulation (PWM) was used to
Robotics and Sustainable Energy.
change the time averaged logic voltage being fed to the ADS 50/5,
K a r t i k e y
A s t h a n a
which in turn changed the shaft
([email protected]) is a second year
speed. Initially, the encoder inputs
of ADS 50/5 were used to read the
Aerospace Engineering at IIT Kanpur.
Fig,6: Proposed Rover
encoder signals and the ‘Monitor n’
His research interests include Fluid
pin was used to calculate the shaft
mechanics and Robotics.
velocity. However, finally, the encoder signals were de25
Kirigami—the art of paper cutting
Role of paper toys in eradicating insect phobia in a community
Insect phobia is widely prevalent in society, and has far reaching consequences. Our knowledge is limited to insects being pests. When a species gets extinct in the insect family, it disturbs the biodiversity
of planet but does not evoke sympathy in our community. This article talks about using Kirigami (art
of paper folding) to eradicate this phobia, and gives a message that by distributing insect toys made of
paper among school children and imparting them the skills to make insects out of waste
paper,
their awareness about insects should be enhanced. They can take home what they learn in school, and
hence the entire families get educated in a period of time about insects (and their role).
Dr. V.S.S. Sastry
shape written on it. When you separate the extra paper
you get this.
Introduction
Insect phobia is cultivated in very young age among children, the reason being, that they may get hurt by insect
bites. The natural curiosity of children to touch and
explore is curtailed in the insect domain, as they are
prevented from holding insects in their hands. This
phobia then gets carried through the adolescent stage.
Most insects are seen only as pests and harmful creatures. To the extent, they are looked upon as Evil invading earth, out of Pandora's Box. At the most, communities' appreciation gets limited to appreciating butterflies,
and hence it is quite difficult to educate communities to
understand and appreciate biodiversity issues and beneficial nature of insects.
D) Using tweezers the legs be bent at ankles and wings
lifted up then the cut paper looks like this.
Many efforts have been made in this direction, but to
increase awareness among children, they can be imparted knowledge to make varieties of insects. Only then
they will come to know the morphological aspects and
beauty in insects in colour. We used Kirigami (art of paper cutting) for helping children explore this fun.
E) This insect cut in paper is put in a transparent box, its
legs stuck to bottom of the box. Underneath the insect a
white paper is used.
Methodology
A) There are ample numbers of colorful advertisements
in newspapers and magazines. Once a newspaper or
magazine is read, it is considered old and waste. People
discard old magazines which are printed on glossy and
fine quality paper, and their only use is to make covers
or recycle them as paper pulp. This material is used to
prepare and make insects.
F) Then the Insect looks exactly real which evokes great
admiration by any one looking at it.
Advantages: In the number of
hours spent in copying insect
drawing, choosing right colors in
advertisements in magazines or
newspapers and encasing them in
a box of suitable size, one acquires
sufficient skill and knowledge to
match the colors in a magazine
paper with insect colors known.
B) Any insect’s body is symmetrical (morphological symmetry). Asymmetric insects do not exist. This yields to
make their contours easy, by folding paper longitudinally.
C) A sharp scissor can cut the contours of the insect
26
The pictures of insects are widely available in Encyclopedias, and Entomology books. Children were encouraged
to make collection of different Paper insects. Children
took these skills home and made insects. They began to
play with them and adults too enjoyed playing.
Conclusion
a) No extra cost required to make insects.
b) Waste paper or magazine paper is recycled.
c) No extra coloring required. (At the most two dots
made by pen for the eyes).
d) Children can handle them easily.
e) Insect phobia vanishes among children, and over a
period of time, entire community gets educated.
f) The skill does not require extra instruments other than
scissors, tweezers and pin.
Dr. VSS Sastry ([email protected]) is affiliated to University of Hyderabad. He has also written some books on
Origami and Kirigami, one of them being Origami—Fun
and Mathematics.
1.61803398….
The mysterious
Divine Proportion
Aayush Gupta
ens, including the Parthenon, concluded that many of its
proportions were approximately equal to the golden ratio. The Parthenon's facade (Fig.1) as well as elements of
the facade can be circumscribed by golden rectangles.
You will also be surprised to
find out that that ratio of consecutive terms in Fibonacci
series tends to this golden
number when we move
higher up in the series.
Have you ever thought what makes Angelina Jolie different from you? What actually makes her beautiful?? Well
the answer is (unbelievably!!) mathematics.
We will get to this later. First
of all let me tell you about a
special number, rather a special ratio, called The Golden
Ratio. To define it in simple
words, any two numbers are
in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the numbers
to the bigger one equals the
ratio of the larger one to the
smaller one. The golden ratio
is an irrational mathematical
term,
approximately
1.6180339887.
Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations of De Divina Proportione
(On the Divine Proportion)
and his views that many bodily proportions exhibit the
Fig. 1
golden ratio have led some
scholars to anticipate that he incorporated golden ratio
in his paintings. Some even say that his Mona Lisa, employs the golden ratio in its geometry.
This equation has a unique solution which is
In 1859, the pyramidologist John Taylor claimed that, in
the Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt), the golden ratio is
shown by the ratio of the length of any face (the
slope height), inclined at an angle with the
ground, to half of the length of the side of the
square base. The above two lengths were approximately 186.4 and 115.2 meters respectively. The ratio of these lengths corresponds to
the golden ratio, accurate to more digits than
either of the original measurements.
I know history has always been a boring thing
to study, but the history of this ratio is very interesting to know.
Historically this number was first studied by
Greeks due to its frequent usage in their geometrical usage. Its discovery is mainly attributed to the great mathematician, Pythagoras
and his followers.
Another form of arts, music, has also been
touched by this miraculous ratio.
Some studies of the Acropolis (a Greek sculpture) in Ath-
(continued on page 35)
27
Playing with Plasma
Wave interaction with bounded plasma confined in a
Magnetostatic well
Indranuj Dey
In recent times, plasma science and technology has entered our daily lives in various forms. Its presence is both
overt and covert in many of the applications and appliances that are in daily use. The earliest example of applied
plasma is the fluorescent tube light, and a recent application being the plasma television. What most of us do not
know is that, the widest application of plasma today is in the field of micro and nano fabrication. Indranuj Dey
writes more on the subject:
Introduction:
In micro and nano fabrication, plasma science and technology can be seen in plasma etching, plasma deposition,
and ion implantation, which are used in the process of
fabricating ICs and microprocessors. Plasma also finds
application in the research in fields of bio and material
sciences, and is the protagonist in the development of a
self-sustaining fusion reactor, the Holy Grail of energy
research.
and Ti), which determine most of its properties. Please
refer to chapter-1 of “Introduction to Plasma Physics and
Controlled Fusion: Volume 1” by Francis F. Chen for
more details on basics of plasma.
All known elements can be transformed to the plasma
state by supplying sufficient energy so that the electrons
are separated from the atoms. In order to sustain the
plasma state, energy must be continuously supplied to
the system to counterbalance the recombination of the
The Waves and Beams Laboratory, Department of Physelectrons with the ions. In laboratories, plasma is generics – IIT Kanpur, carries out research primarily in the
ated mostly from gaseous elements. Liquids and solids
field of microhave to be first
wave generated
converted
to
plasmas, and its
their
vapor
applications to
states
before
development of
their ionization
m u l t i to plasma state.
elemental foPlasma may be
cused
ion
generated by,
beams
(ME(i) application
FIB) for nanoof high DC/AC
science studies,
voltage
beand
negative
tween two elecion beams for
trodes; (ii) debio-science,
livering
RF
material
scipower via coil
ence and fusion Figure 1: Experimental setup in the Waves and Beams Laboratory, Dept. of Physics, antennas; (iii)
IIT Kanpur.
applications. In
launching mithis article, the
crowaves
of
physics of the interaction of the microwave with magsufficient power via wave-guides/aperture antennas;
netically confined plasma will be discussed and selected
(iv) Lasers. Laboratory plasmas are usually generated at
results will be presented.
low pressures (0.1 mTorr – 1 Torr), about 3 to 5 orders
below the atmospheric pressure (760 Torr), depending
Plasma, the 4th state of matter:
on the scheme of generation and also the research reThe term plasma comes from Greek, which means somequirement. Plasma at atmospheric pressure is also possithing molded or fabricated. It is also referred to as the 4th
ble, and is currently being researched for various bio and
state of matter, and is defined as a quasi – neutral aggreenvironmental science applications. Magnetic confinegate of electrons, ions and neutral species showing a colment schemes enhance the plasma uniformity and lifelective behavior. About 99% of our visible universe is in
time in general, and also density and temperature in case
the plasma state. Stellar interiors, gaseous nebulae and
of RF or microwave plasmas where resonance mechamuch of the rarefied interstellar atmosphere are examnisms come into play. Common confinement schemes
ples of plasmas. A plasma is characterized by its particle
include electromagnetic coils, multipolar arrangements,
(electron, ne and ion, Ni) density and temperature (Te
Tokamak configuration, etc.
28
Waves in plasma:
Plasmas can be regarded as gases with elastic fluid properties, i.e when disturbed (usually electrically); they have
restoring forces which bring them back to the equilibrium state. This restoring force is characterized by a
plasma oscillation frequency (wp) related to the density
(n) by
We then try to corroborate the results and understand
the physics involved from theoretical calculations and
simulations.
Experimental setup:
A digital snapshot of the experimental setup is shown in
Fig. 1. The experimental system consists of a stainlesssteel Vacuum Chamber (VC) with four cylindrical arms
having numerous ports for pumping, gas inlet, vacuum
gauges and plasma diagnostics. The chamber is evacuated to a base pressure of 5 ´ 10-7 Torr by a combination
of a Rotary and a Turbo Molecular pump (TMP). Argon
(Zero grade) is used as the experimental gas, with its
flow controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC). The
working pressure range is between 0.20 – 0.60 mTorr
which corresponds to about 1012 Ar atoms per cubic centimeter at 25 °C.
 p  ne 2 m o
where n = ne at Ni and m is electron (me) or ion (Mi)
mass. Thus, electrons and ion respond differently to the
disturbances since Mi >> me, the ion usually forming the
restoring background for the more responsive electrons.
The restoring force is linear since the electric field varies
linearly inside a volume containing uniform distribution
of charged particles. The plasma also has a property
called the Debye shielding, whereby any electrical anomaly or disturbance is shielded by the charged particles
within a sphere of radius few times lD (Debye length),
and must be considered while making current-voltage
measurements for characterizing the plasma.
The microwave generator (MWG) generates continuous
microwaves of frequency 2.45 GHz. The power range
used in most of the experiments is 180 – 540 W. A three
stub tuner (TST) is used for impedance matching between the source and the load (plasma). The forward
and reflected microwave power is monitored by a dual
directional coupler (DDC) and a power monitor (PM),
and the isolator (ISO) dumps the reflected power to a
water load and prevents damage to the MWG.
When an electromagnetic wave (EM) is imposed upon a
plasma, the electrons and ions respond to the oscillating
field, constrained by the restoring forces, with the electron being the primary respondent. This leads to various
phenomenons like whistler waves, Landau damping,
various harmonic effects, etc. Imposition of a magnetic
An eight-pole (octupole) magnetic multicusp (MC) of
field on the plasma inradius 42 mm and a
troduces new phesurface magnetic field
nomenon like the cycloof 0.4 Tesla, is placed
tron resonance and
coaxially inside the VC.
damping, hybrid resoA thin stainless steel
nances and cut-offs,
cylindrical shell is inwave-mode
converserted inside the MC to
sions, and various nonprovide a continuous
linear effects. Studies
conducting boundary
on wave-plasma intercondition. A MAXWELL
action enrich the unsimulation showing the
derstanding of the
magnetic field profile
physics of plasmas and
superimposed on a picalso pave the way for
ture of the octupole
various applications.
showing the magnetic
Figure 2: (a) MAXWELL simulation showing the magnetic field in the
arrangement is given in
MC. (b) Argon plasma in the MC.
The work carried out in
Fig. 2 (a). A radial plot
our laboratory involves
of the measured variation of the magnetic field,
microwave generated, bounded plasma confined in cylindrical magnetic multipolar confinement. Multipolar de| Bo | Br2  B2
vices in various configurations have been studied before.
Most of the earlier works involved large volume devices.
where Br and Bq are the radial and polar components, is
Many modern applications require, small volume deshown in Fig. 4. The axial variation of magnetic field is
vices, which have only been studied in the past ten years
negligible. The magnetic field demonstrates a well like
with emphasis on plasma sustenance and generation.
structure, with the magnitude of Bo minimum at the cenThe aspect of interaction between the wave and the
tre, and increasing towards the walls (Bo  r3), and is
plasma in such devices has not been studied in details.
hence referred to as a magnetostatic well.
We are interested in experimentally studying how the
microwave interacts with the magnetized plasma, and
Several probes for various plasma diagnostics such as
both the wave (frequency, wavelength, polarization, amcharged particle density, EM waves etc., are introduced
plitude) and the plasma (density, temperature and eninto the chamber, from both the radial and axial direcergy distribution) parameters are mutually influenced.
tions. A Langmuir probe is used for the current (I)29
voltage (V) characterization of the plasma. The ion density and the electron temperature are obtained from the I
-V characteristics by standard procedures. A linear antenna with a small exposed coaxial tip enclosed in a pyrex glass tube is used for the measurement of the oscillating electric field. The probe signal is attenuated and
measured with a spectrum analyzer by recording the
peak-power corresponding to 2.45 GHz. All the probes
are vacuum sealed inside thin stainless steel pipes and
inserted via Wilson seals. The dimensions of the probes
are chosen such that they cause minimal disturbance to
the plasma during measurement.
The incident microwave thus interacts with an inhomogeneous magneto-plasma bounded by a conducting surface, leading to various interesting phenomenon, which
are investigated experimentally.
Experimental results:
Figure 3 shows the radial variation of the plasma parameters (Ni and Te) at different pressures, with the input power fixed at 180 W. It is observed that the density
Ni is maximum at the centre, and falls off at the periphery. The density is a little higher at higher pressure, since
there is more number of neutral Ar atoms that can be
ionized. However, at much higher pressures, the increase
in collisionality reduces the energy gain by the electrons,
thereby decreasing the density.
There is an optimum pressure
range in which the densities are
maximum for a resonance based
plasma source. The temperature
Te demonstrates peak ~ 22 mm,
signifying a wave - magnetoplasma resonance coupling. The
magnitude of Te decreases at
higher pressure due to the increased electron –neutral collisionality. This is more prominent
Figure 3: Radial variation of plasma density and
at the resonance zone, where the
temperature
electrons are more energetic and
hence undergo more collisional
interaction.
Plasma generation:
When the microwaves of ~ 180
W is launched inside the MC,
having Ar at ~ 10-4 Torr, the very
low population of free seed electrons present are accelerated by
the oscillating field, and collide
with the neutral atoms. The collisions, which are mostly elastic,
randomize the phase of the electrons and they gain energy stochastically, until they have
enough energy to excite or ionize the atoms. The process of
excitation creates metastable
atoms, which may be ionized by
low energy electrons. The process of ionization generates electrons and ions, thus furnishing
more electrons which particiFrom the magnitudes of Ni and
pate in the above process. This
Bo in the multicusp, the refracleads to an avalanche charactertive index of the magnetoized by a crossover point, after
plasma medium can be calcuwhich the ionized gas becomes a
lated. Since, most of the plasma
full fledged plasma. The process
applications involve geometries
is further enhanced in the preswhere the wavelength of the EM
ence of a static magnetic field,
wave (lo) is much smaller than
since the electrons perform helithe vacuum cut-off wavelength
cal motions thereby increasing
(corresponding to the dominant
their interaction probability
mode) of the confining boundary
Figure 4: Radial variation of the intensity of the
with the atoms. The magnetic
(lc), the plane wave dispersion
microwave electric field.
field in the multicusp is radially
relations may be used for calcuincreasing towards the periphlations, and give pretty accurate
ery. At about 28 mm from the centre, the value of the
results. According to that approximation, there should
magnetic field (~ 875.5 gauss) is such that the electron
not be any propagation of waves by any mode through
cyclotron frequency given by
the central region, upto a radius of about 20 mm, since
the wp > w of the wave (no ordinary mode), and the wc is
c  eBo / me
very small (no extraordinary mode). However, the measurement of the oscillating electric field intensity |Etot|2
becomes equal to the wave frequency, thereby leading to
shows (Fig. 4) that there finite propagation through the
a maximum transfer of wave power to the electrons,
central plasma. A minimum is also observed at ~ 28 mm,
which are accelerated to large energies, which enhances
which matches with the electron cyclotron damping
the process of plasma formation. As the plasma is crepoint, where the wave transfers maximum energy to the
ated, the magnetic well like structure helps to confine the
electrons.
plasma along the central axis of the plasma by mirror
and cusp actions. A digital snap of the plasma confined in
Discussions :
the MC is shown in Fig. 2 (b). Thus, a radially inhomogeThe penetration of the wave in the central forbidden reneous, high density plasma is generated in the multicusp
gion in our experiments is attributed to the reflections
in the presence of a radially increasing magnetic field.
30
from the confining boundary of the MC. The dimension of
the MC is such that lo (@ 12 cm) ~ lc (@ 14 cm, for TE11
mode). Hence, the waves which propagate inside the cylindrical waveguide via reflections, has a high degree of
penetrability since the plasma cross-section is not large
enough to damp the fields. In large waveguides, the fields
will be damped out, and their radial field profile will tend
towards the prediction of the plane wave model.
brid resonance. In reality, a resonance actually occurs in
that region, but the energy is coupled from the wave to
the plasma, and is observed as a peak in the electron
temperature, rather than in the wave intensity.
The research findings reported in this article have important significance with respect to design and optimization of compact multicusp based plasma sources for various applications. Depending
To predict the field profile in
on the requirement of the
such small MC configuraapplication, the pole numtions, Maxwell’s equations
ber, radius, even the conwere solved by taking the
ducting boundary may be
magnetoplasma as a radially
selected based on the exvarying, complex dielectric
periments and the corremedium, enclosed in a consponding calculations. In
ducting circular waveguide.
fact, the design for the
One such result where two
plasma sources in both the
different numbers of magindigenously developed FIB
netic poles (6 and 8) in the
and NIB in the Waves and
MC is compared is shown in
Beams
Laboratory,
are
Fig. 5. The density and magbased on the above results.
netic field conditions are
It is hoped that similar basic
similar to what we obtain in
physics studies on the waveour experiments. It is inter- Figure 5: Calculated field intensity variation for two MC po- plasma interaction in comlarities.
esting to note that a wave
pact multicusps will lead to
resonance peak is predicted
many groundbreaking defor the octupole case at ~ 23 mm, which coincides with
velopments in the research on the FIB and NIB, and will
the Te peak in Fig. 3. Calculations show that this peak is
open up new horizons in the field of nano-science and
dependent on both the plasma density and the magnetic
technology.
field, and hence is a modified upper hybrid resonance for
bounded, inhomogeneous medium. However, no such
Indranuj Dey ([email protected]) is a research scholar
prominent peaks are visible in the experimental data in
working in the field of microwave generated magnetically
Fig. 4 because, the calculations are based on linearized
confined plasmas under Dr. S. Bhattacharjee in the Deapproximations, and do not consider the various nonlinpartment of Physics, IIT Kanpur. He is interested in nonear, collisional and non-collisonal wave-plasma interaclinear wave – plasma interactions and its application to
tions, which dissipate the wave energy at the upper hynanotechnology, space – propulsion and fusion.
Science Journalism and Communication Workshop
“It is suicidal to create a society dependent upon science and technology in which hardly anybody knows anything about
science and technology”, Carl Sagan, the eminent science writer once said. Today, with the rapid developments in science
and technology impacting the society and environment we live in, science journalism and communication is growing as a
specialist field of scientific expertise and as a creative and lucrative profession/career option for science/engineering
graduates, but this field suffers from a paucity of talent all across the globe.
Workshops on Science Journalism and Communication were conducted by the founding Student Coordinator and Editor
of NERD, Mohit Kumar Jolly, during Techkriti’10 (Annual technical and entrepreneurship festival of IIT Kanpur) and
Tryst’10 (Annual technical festival of IIT Delhi). The workshop covered some basics of science/technology journalism
and communication - What is science journalism and communication and what do science communicators do, various
modes and means of effective science communication - interface of science and media, why is this field gaining importance in India and abroad , what challenges exist and what are the career opportunities for science/engineering graduates in this field, how can students get started into this field right away through freelancing or other means etc.
Various modes of journalism/communication– print (magazines/newspapers/popular science books), video
(documentaries/TV shows), audio (radio scripts), science cartoons, public debates shall be taken as examples to bring to
light the need for different modes depending on the audience and the content.
For more details about the workshop and science journalism, please contact Mohit: [email protected] or
9044274258.
31
Brightness and Contrast
Michael Faraday and Ludwig Boltzmann
Two of the greatest minds in the world of science had one thing in commoncreativity. Sadly, the respect that their work received couldn’t have been more
different; While one was offered knighthood and much more by his contemporaries, the other committed suicide after a lifelong battle against the
disapproval of his work by a vocal, group of physicists of his era.
Ish Dhand
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791 at
Newington, England to a blacksmith father and a mother
who was a farmer’s daughter. Faraday received very
basic education up to the age of 13 when he had to give
up school because of the family’s financial condition. He
was employed by a kind bookbinder and bookseller,
Riebau, who, as is popularly known, let him read the
books he bound.
Faraday and him that just didn’t heal. Faraday then
moved on to observing, understanding and using the
effect we today know as Electromagnetic Induction
wherein relative motion between a magnet and a wire
produces current in the wire. The dynamo’s used to
power all our homes are attributed to the effort put in by
him during this phase of his life. Faraday’s work in electrochemistry gave us the first ideas of the anode, the
cathode, anions and cations, all of which are terms
popularized by Faraday himself in order to explain his
work.
In the words of Faraday: “There were two that especially
helped me, the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ from which I
gained my first notions of electricity and Mrs. Marcet’s
‘Conversation on Chemistry’, which gave me foundation in
that science.”
An idea put forward by Faraday was the notion of Fields
to describe the Electromagnetic interactions and this has
been the cornerstone of modern electromagnetic theory.
Faraday also found that the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light can be rotated by the application of
an external magnetic field aligned in the direction the
light is moving. Faraday discovered diamagnetism in
1845 when he observed that many materials exhibit a
weak repulsion from a magnetic field.
Faraday’s brother Robert paid for his subscription to
become a member of the City Philosophical Society
which organized a series of evening lectures on natural
philosophy. Soon, he found himself attending series of
four lectures with Humphrey Davy as the speaker at the
Royal Institution. His carefully prepared, illustrated and
bound notes were not enough to convince Humphrey to
provide an opportunity to work on his passion in
science, until Humphrey’s lab assistant was dismissed
from his job for indulging in a public brawl and this is
where we see the beginning of the career of one of the
greatest geniuses in experimental science with work
ranging from Electromagnetic Induction to the discovery
of benzene. An 18 month long scientific tour in which he
accompanied Davy exposed him to the greatest men of
science of those days and had an important influence on
him: that of broadening his horizons.
Along with all this, he was a great expounder of science
to popular audience. Under the Friday Evening
Discourses, Faraday delivered more than a hundred lec-
His early work in the Royal Institute focused on research
in Chemistry. In 1822 he made the first steel alloy. Faraday was also the first to liquefy a gas, chlorine. He discovered benzene (C6H6) while examining the residue
collecting in cylinders of illuminating gas in 1825.
His work in the field of electricity and magnetism is more
fundamental. In 1821, taking inspiration from Oersted’s
observations, he demonstrated the first form of an
electric motor. Though, today, we have evidence of the
originality of Faraday’s work, Davy’s conviction that
Faraday had actually stolen his idea led to a rift between
tures which reported the developments in science to a
32
general Audience. In 1826, he started the Lecture course:
a series of six Christmas lectures for children. Of the
nineteen of these he delivered, two,
‘The Chemical History of a Candle’ and
‘Lectures on Various Forces of Matter’,
were published and have become classics.
Perhaps teachers would
agree with the views of this great scientist who painstakingly prepared to
make himself one of the greatest lecturer’s of his time.
from a private tutor at home following which he studied
physics at the University of Vienna, starting in 1863.
We owe much of the understanding we have of the
microscopic world, ranging from the very idea of the
atom, to the perception of entropy as something that
can be ‘counted’ and to insights into the meaning of
temperature, to Boltzmann. His contributions today are
accepted as fundamental, but during his age, he was met
by a very vocal opposition from a many renowned scientists, including Ernst Mach, who is considered as the precursor to Einstein’s relativity and Wilhelm Ostwald, who
is credited with the invention of the Ostwald process for
the manufacture of nitric acid and the Ostwald dilution
law.
“As practiced by the Society, lecturing is capable of
improving not only those who are lectured, but also the
lecturer. He makes it, or he ought to make it, an opportunity for the exertion of his mental powers, that so by using
he may strengthen them; and if he is truly in earnest, he
will do as much good to himself as to his audience.”
Boltzmann completed his doctorate from the University
of Vienna in 1866 with his thesis on the kinetic theory of
gases supervised by Josef Stefan following which he became an assistant to his teacher. This theory explains the
macroscopic properties of
gases using the assumption
that gases are made up of a
large number of small particles (Molecules or atoms)
and analyzing the interaction between them using
the existing laws of mechanics. Boltzmann, throughout
his life, faced severe repulsion from some parts of the
scientific community who
did not believe in the atomic
Stamp issued by Austria
hypothesis.
in 1981 to acknowledge
the fundamental contriIn 1869, Boltzmann was
bution of Boltzmann to
appointed the Chair of
Theoretical Physics at the
University of Graz. Four years later, he accepted the
Chair of Mathematical Physics in the University of Vienna. He did not stay very long in one place and in another three years, he found himself back in Graz, now, in
the Chair of Experimental Physics. In 1894, he death of
his teacher, Stefan, saw him moving to Vienna to fill the
vacancy in the Theoretical physics chair there. Owing to
the friction between him and Ersnt Mach, who was appointed to the chair of history and philosophy of science
in the same university, he left for the university of Leipzig to become a colleague of friend but nonetheless, a
persistent opponent in scientific matters, Wilhelm Ostwald. As his opponents pressed violent argument against
his fundamental work in Statistical Mechanics, he unsuccessfully attempted suicide while in Leipzig. It is unclear
whether it was because of the loud opposition that his
theories received from some scientists, or a simple
physiological condition, but it is clear that he was undergoing through serious depression. He eventually commit-
“A lecturer should appear easy and collected, undaunted
and unconcerned, his thoughts about him and his mind
clear for the contemplation and description of his subject.
His action should be slow, easy and natural, consisting
principally in changes of the posture of the body, in order
to avoid the air of stiffness or sameness that would be otherwise unavoidable."
“With respect to the action of the lecturer, it is requisite
that he has some, though it does not here bear the importance that it does in other branches of oratory; for though
I know of no other species of delivery that requires less
motion, yet I would by no means have a lecturer glued to
the table or screwed to the floor. He must by all means
appear as a body distinct and separate from the things
around him, and must have some motion apart from that
which they possess.”
“The lecturer should give the audience full reason to believe that all his powers have been exerted for their pleasure and instruction.”
During his lifetime, Faraday rejected a knighthood and
twice refused to become President of the Royal Society.
’’I have always felt that there is something degrading in
offering rewards for intellectual exertion, and that societies or academies, or even kings and emperors should mingle in the matter does not remove the degradation”.
Faraday breathed his last on 25 August 1867. Following
his wishes he was buried quietly, instead of the Westminister Abbey, in Highgate cemetery.
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann was born in February 1844 in
Vienna to a comfortable middle-class family. At the age of
15, he lost his father. He received his primary education
33
time when determinism was considered sacrosanct.
Boltzmann explained irreversibility, in thermodynamic
systems, based on reversible mechanical laws and this,
again, caused discomfort to his contemporaries based on
their philosophies.
ted suicide in 1906
while he was on a
vacation with his
wife and children.
Perhaps, only to add
more drama to the
picture, one year
after Boltzmann’s
death, his scientific
beliefs,
including
the atomic view,
saw a clear victory
in light of the work
The Boltzmann award was insti- done by Einstein,
tuted by the International Union of S m o l u c h o w s k i ,
Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) Perrin et al.
Commission on Statistical Physics
to honour outstanding achieve- Through a rather
unstable
career,
ments in Statistical Physics.
Boltzmann
made
many fundamental contributions to the field of statistical
mechanics. In 1871, he extended the work of Maxwell
and gave meaning to temperature by showing that the
energy possessed by each atom/molecule in a gas is
proportional to the temperature. Joseph Stephen, his
teacher had, based on experimental evidence, formulated
the T4 law for Blackbody radiation. In 1884, Boltzmann provided a theoretical derivation for the same
based on the laws of thermodynamics. In the 1890’s,
Boltzmann gave a sound theoretical backing by relating,
probabilistically, the entropy of a system to the number of possible states of the system. In this manner,
Boltzmann justified the 2nd law as a law of disorder.
Boltzmann understood the
nature of the school of
science and philosophy
rather well: “The most ordinary things are to philosophy a source of insoluble puzzles. With infinite
ingenuity it constructs a
concept of space or time
and then finds it absolutely
impossible that there be
objects in this space or that
processes occur during this
time . . . the source of this
kind of logic lies in excessive confidence in the socalled laws of thought.”
Viennese Zentralfriedhof
Boltzmann’s suicide in 1906 does intrigue one about the
nature of scientific discovery. He is buried in the Viennese Zentralfriedhof; his tombstone bears the inscription
S = k.logW.
Following sources are acknowledged for the images used
in this article :
1. http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/PictDisplay/
Boltzmann.html
2. http://www.statphys23.org/boltzmann_medal.html
3. h t t p : / / b l o g . m a k e z i n e . c o m / B o o k _ R e v i e w _ %
20Fig_1_May_2008_FaradayCoverImage.jpg
Using the laws of mechanics, coupled with the probabilistic arguments and some basic assumptions, Boltzmann
showed how we could talk about macroscopically measurable quantities in terms of basic microscopic ideas.
This made many uncomfortable in science circles who
still considered that it was energy and not atoms as the
chief component of matter.
Ish Dhand is a second year undergraduate student at IIT
Kanpur. He can be reached at [email protected]. He has
an intense passion for Physics and in interested in pursuing research in pure Physics after his under-graduation.
He likes listening to music from diverse genres.
The idea of probability was also seen skeptically in a
The new NERD HERD
The founding student coordinators of NERD, the student-led initiative of the campus science and technology magazine Arvind Kothari and Mohit Kumar Jolly - handed over the reins to the newly constructed CCC (Core Coordination Committee) of the project-Bhuvnesh Goyal, Pranjal Nayak and Utsav Kesarwani. Dr. Anurag Gupta has kindly agreed to be the
new Project Coordinator and he shall soon take over from the founding Project Coordinator Dr. M. K. Harbola. NERD has
flourished as a project under guidance of Dr. K. Muralidhar, Dean Research and Development, IIT Kanpur. NERD, first
launched on 5th September, 2008 has had 7 issues published till now, including a special issue on Energy and Environment, which was launched in Techkriti (the annual technical and entrepreneurship festival of IIT Kanpur) 2009.
The new NERD HERD is grateful to all NERD team members who contributed in establishing it as a successful experiment
in campus.
34
(continued from page 27)
The golden ratio can also be found in many musical compositions of Mozart, Beethoven etc.
mainly because it is a natural way of
dealing with divisions of time. Composers like Debussy and Bartok have intentionally used this ratio and the Fibonacci
series. Bartok deliberately writes melodies which contain intervals whose sizes
can be expressed in Fibonacci numbers
of semitones.
No, The Golden ration ratio is not an
ancient thing to inculcate in all the
things, even nowadays, the web designing is done. A simple design of a web
page uses the golden rectangle (Fig. 2).
Our fingers have three sections. The proportion of the
first two sections to the full length of the finger gives the
golden ratio.
There are many golden ratios in the human face. Now do not pick up a ruler and
try to measure people's faces as this refers to the "ideal human face" determined by doctors and scientists.
For example, the ratio of total width of
the two front teeth in your upper jaw
with their height gives a golden ratio.
Some other golden ratios in the human
face are:
a) Length of your face and the width of
Fig. 2
your face,
b) Length of your face and the distance between tip of jaw and point
We, the humans, are not the only
where your eyebrows meet,
one to design our things and comc) Length of your mouth width of
position according to the Golden
nose,
ratio, seems like the God enjoys
d) Width of your nose and the disthis logic too. Let us see how. First
tance between nostrils,
of all let us take a pine cone and
e) Distance between pupils of your
count the clockwise and countereyes and the distance between eyeclockwise direction. Secondly take
brows.
a pineapple and count its spiral too.
Now it’s turn of a sunflower, count
The golden ratio can also be seen in
its spiral too. No, I have not turned
crystal structures. Most of these are
into a crazy “nerd”, but I simply
structures too minute to be seen
want to put forward the beautiful
with the naked eye. Yet we can see
designing. In the case of pine cone
Fig. 3
the golden ratio in snowflakes. The
the ratio will come out to be 8:5
various long and short variations and projections that
which is 1.6. And in case of pineapple it’s 13:8 = 1.625 .
comprise the snow flake all give the golden ratio.
And now you will be startled, in case of sunflower it is
55:34, 89:55, or 144:89 and they are
In the universe there are many spiral
approximately, in order: 1.61765,
galaxies comprising the golden ratio in
1.61819, and 1.61798. Yes!!! The ratio is
their structures. When investigating the
going closer to the Golden Ratio.
shells of the mollusks (Fig. 4), which
thrive at the bottom of the sea, the shells
Now, let us come to the human body
of these animals was also found to grow
(Fig. 3). Take a good look at yourself in
in golden ratio manner.
the mirror. You'll see that most of the
body parts follow the numbers one, two,
three, five and eight. You have two
References and sources of images:
hands, fingers on them comprises of
1. http://www.world-mysteries.com/
three sections. There are five fingers on
sci_174.jpg
Fig. 4
each hand and feet, golden number: 2, 3
2. http://library.thinkquest.org/trio/
TTQ05063/phibeauty3.htm
and 5 fit the Fibonacci series. DNA molecules having
3. http://library.thinkquest.org/18054/data/text/english/
length of 34 angstrom and width 21 angstroms for each
e03.html
complete cycle of the double helix follow this series too.
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
5. http://www.world-mysteries.com/
The distance between your shoulder line and the top of
the head length, the distance between your navel and
Aayush Gupta ([email protected]) is a first year underthe top of the head and the distance between the shoulgraduate student in the Department of Electrical Engider line and the top of the head and the distance beneering, IIT Kanpur.
tween your navel and knee and the distance between
the knee and the end of the foot also follow.
35
SCoPE talk series
(Science Communication and Public Engagement)
climbing critters etc. in a small plastic dabba full of
thread, buttons, scissors, straws, matchboxes, marbles,
empty ball pen-refills, and other throwaway items.
'Scientoons: Enjoy science with fun'
Dr. Pradeep Srivastava, Senior Scientist in the Medicinal and Process Chemistry Division at the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, gave a lecture titled "Scientoons: Enjoy Science
with fun" on 19th September, 2009. Dr.
Srivastava developed the field of Scientoonics while delivering a lecture in 1988 at an Asian
conference at NUS, Singapore. He was awarded the International Young Person of the Year Award by the Junior
Chambers Association (USA). Scientoonics is a new
branch of science which deals with effective science communication using a novel class of science cartoons called
Scientoons. Scienctoon not only make you smile and
laugh but also provide information about new research,
new subjects and concepts in a simple, understandable
and interesting way.
He is a Distinguished Alumnus Awardee of IIT Kanpur, a
UNESCO consultant on science education and winner
of India’s National Award for Science popularisation.
‘Bull Scientifique’
Mr. Abhay S D Rajput, a research associate (journalism) at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), has been a S.
Ramaseshan Science Writing Fellow at
the journal Current Science. Author of
‘Handbook on science journalism’, he has
extensive experience in communicating
science through radio, films and print since 2005.
He gave introductory lecture on science communication,
on January 16, where he talked about the need and scope
of the field and career opportunities in the same. He has
received Rajat Jayanti Science Communication Award
2008 by Department of Science & Technology, and holds
a masters in science communication from DAVV, Indore.
‘Science communication in India'
Dr. Manoj Patairiya, Director of National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST and
the President of Indian Science Writers' Association (ISWA) gave a lecture
on "Science Communication in India" on 19th September,
2009 where he talked about what exactly is science communication, what is its present state in India, what measures have been taken to make the common people realize the significance of science, and to build a scientific
temper among them, what are the challenges in this area
and what is the future vision of science communication
and journalism in India. Dr. Patairiya, the editor of Indian
Journal of Science Communication (IJSC), holds a PhD in
science communication and has received the prestigious
B. C. Deb Memorial National Award for Popularisation of
Science by the Indian Science Congress Association in
2000.
'Science, Media and risk - the intricate relationship'
Ms. S. Priyadarshini, Editor, Nature India- one stop site
for information on Indian science, delivered a talk
'Science, media and risk - the intricate relationship' on
February 24, 2010.
The talk introduced science journalism why it is needed at all, its status in India
and abroad and basics of science news
reporting and editing, and necessary precautions required before publishing any science related
story in media, through enough anecdotes and examples
of science news to show how science news is presented.
The talk also gave an overview of the scope of the field of
science journalism - how students can start contributing
articles for science news portals/newspapers by freelancing, how faculty members, without disturbing their
research work, can get their work across to the media,
how should the interaction of a scientist be with media,
and last but not the least, the future of science journalism
as a career option for those interested.
‘Trash to treasure’
The bearded man in khadi kurtaa Mr.
Arvind Gupta is a toymaker. You may
call him a magician as well. He has
taught hands on science and toymaking workshops to thousands of
children throughout India, and has
written his trash-to-treasure lessons written up in numerous
books,
all
freely
a va il a b l e
at
www.arvindguptatoys.com.
Winner of BBC World Service Trust award for environment reporting, Ms. Priyadarshini has covered science
news for The Indian Express, The Telegraph, The Asian
Age, Press Trust of India and has been Science Editor,
Down to Earth—India’s only science and environment
magazine.
When he took out his ‘jhola’ in the jam packed lecture
hall on January 3, we got a glimpse of what has been
revolutionizing science teaching in India—dozens of
toys as whirling thread rings, tone-changing flutes, wall36
Reminiscences
Dr. Ramamurthy Balasubramaniam, professor in the department of
Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kanpur passed away
on December 9, 2009. Born in Salem, Tamil Nadu, he obtained his
PhD in Materials Engineering in 1990 from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute Troy, USA. He joined the faculty of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kanpur on 2nd April 1990.
His research interests included Material-Hydrogen Systems, Environmental Degradation of Materials, Structure-Property Correlation
in Advanced Materials and Indian Archaeometallurgy. He was a prolific researcher and has published more than 250 research papers in
refereed journals of repute. He has published 10 books. Two of his
recent books "The Saga of Indian Cannons" and 'Story of Delhi Iron
Pillar", which dealt with Indian Archaeometallurgy are on corrosion
resistance. His research on the of Delhi’s iron pillar attracted worldwide attention. One of his most recent research projects was his
work on Corrosion Prevention of Rails under the Technology Mission on Railway Safety.
Dr. R. Balasubramaniam
1961-2009
In recognition to his outstanding contribution as an active researcher in the field of Metallurgy, Materials Science and Archeometallurgy, Dr. Balasubramaniam received a number of prestigious awards,
including Young Scientist Award (1993), Indian National Science Academy, Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation Research Fellowship (1996), Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal (1999),
Metallurgist of the Year award (1999), Ministry of Steels and Mines, Government of India. He was a
member of the National Commission for History of Science. He was an editorial member of a number
of international journals in the area of corrosion and Archeometallurgy. He was one of the finest
teachers and recently received the inaugural Distinguished Educator Award (2009) from Indian Institute of Metals (IIM). Dr.Balasubramaniam was a life member of Indian Institute of Metals.
Apart from Academics, Dr. Balasubramaniam was an enthusiastic sportsperson with a passion for
cricket. He also had a great passion, both for Indian and Western music, right from his student days in
BHU. NERD team wishes that his departed soul may rest in peace.
CALL FOR ArTICLES
NERD is the scientific and technical research and development magazine run by the students of
IITK. We publish news on scientific breakthroughs happening in various technical education
institutes, research labs et cetera across India and the world with an emphasis on the work done
by students. So NERD is a magazine of the students, by the students, for everyone. The NERD
magazine is first of its kind and we need everyone who is interested in science and technology to
be on our team. Join “the NERD Herd!” Yes, you can be the one writing for the magazine.
SCIENTOON-by Puneet Singh
NERD Magazine, SAC 210, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, U.P., India or
mail us at [email protected]
Also, if you find any kind of plagiarism in any article, mail us at [email protected] as soon as possible.

- IIT Kanpur

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